Book I: Aloof Hero
by IcexLawless
Summary: Mizuha Hyōmei is going to attend U.A High School. A new environment and a new opportunity to meet and to befriend new people. Unfortunately, she only wants to learn and train to become a hero. She intends on staying aloof to not repeat what she regrets. However, her regret is her greatest obstacle and it's preventing her from moving forward. Now, her high school career is at stake.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_A 9 year old girl stayed rooted in her spot as she began to feel numb. Tears were glistening in her eyes as the news was registered into her brain. The other 9 year old standing next to her, could only hold her hand tightly._

 _The man dressed in white had his arms by his side as he explained the situation to the two families standing before him. The girl looked up and saw how her mother's face looked so pained. Her father could only hold her as she held back her tears._

 _Her father looked at the doctor with hopeful eyes, "But... there is still hope, right?"_

 _The girl found it difficult to pay attention to her surroundings._

 _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all **your** fault. _

_"... We just don't know when they'll wake up. It'll be up to them."_

 _"My sister won't wake up yet?" The boy holding her hand asked, she flinched as he asked that question._

 _"No, we don't know yet, Ren." The boy's mother answered, she too was struggling to keep her tears at bay._

 _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all your fault._ _It's all your fault. It's all **your** fault. _

_At that moment, the sound of running footsteps were approaching them. The 9 year old didn't need to turn around to see who it was, she already knew it was her uncle arriving. Her mother immediately greeted her uncle in a broken voice, which made her feel even worse._

 _"What's going on with my nephew?!"_

 _"Oh... Eijin...! The doctor said that-"_

 ** _"-Mizuha!"_**

A girl with long platinum hair jumped in her seat as her name was called out very loudly next to her. She was brought back to reality. She was sitting, outside, on wooden a bench in front of a convenience store. She slowly turned turned her head and laid her black orbs on the person next to her. The guy sitting next to her was staring at her curiously as he waved a five dollar bill between them.

Mizuha slowly registered his features in her mind, white spiky hair and light purple eyes...

"Byakuren..." She spoke out softly.

"Here, your change." He said while waving the money a little faster. She reached out her hand and grabbed her money, he then placed a small pack of gummy bears on her lap. She thanked him quietly and shoved the money into her bag, she then took the pack of gummies and stood up from the bench.

Byakuren grabbed her school bag and carried it with him along with his own. They began walking on the route that would bring them home. He watched Mizuha concentrate on opening the gummy pack with a small grin. He waited patiently, as she was struggling, for her to open and finally grab a little coloured bear. She let out a sigh of satisfaction before finally popping a green one into her mouth.

"So?" He asked.

Mizuha's eyes looked at them from the corner of her sockets, with her right eyebrow raised. As if she was asking him for a better question than just a word.

"I mean, are you going to apply for _that_ high school?" He inquired with a small smile. Mizuha let out a small hum with a nod before turning her eyes back in front of her.

"I don't think I need to ask if you did." Mizuha said with a flat tone before popping an orange bear into her mouth. Byakuren nodded with a hum of his own. Not a word was spoken between them as they kept walking side by side. The sky was already orange, indicating that students should be on their way home soon. Complete silence between them, except for the occasional movements of the plastic pack once Mizuha would grab another treat to satisfy her craving.

"U.A High School..." Mizuha whispered to no one in particular.

"New environment, new people. A new opportunity to make new friends! Sounds great don't you think?" Byakuren teased with a grin, knowing full well what his friend's answer would be.

Mizuha's black eyes narrowed, "Yeah, right. Stop talking nonsense. _That_ weakness will only get you in trouble one day, perhaps even killed." She said with a scoff before popping a final treat in her mouth and rolling the top of the pack downwards. She stopped walking and held out her hand between the two of them.

Byakuren stopped in his tracks and smiled, he handed her school bag. She zipped her bag open and dropped the semi-sealed gummy pack inside, and then zipped it closed once again. This time, she kept her bag with her as she resumed walking.

 _U.A High School, the number one institution in the world where students learn and train to be a full-fledged hero. I, Mizuha Hyoumei, along with Byakuren Kyoran, will be taking the entrance exams very soon. Obviously, we are aiming to become heroes that will graduate from the best school along with gaining the best knowledge for such a profession. I am absolutely certain that we'll be able to get into that school._

 _-x-_

 **Hey! This was the Prologue for Aloof Hero, which I plan to be the first of 'Book' of the story. ' _Book I'_ will focus on Mizuha's background and character development. **

**I hoped you liked this Prologue and please give this story a chance! Please, let me know what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2: Getting Into UA

Mizuha Hyoumei scooped up some of her cereal in her spoon and shoved it in her mouth as her eyes stayed fixed on the screen in front of her. Her phone was tilted back against her glass and it was playing a video of her choosing. Her mother didn't seem to mind at all as she was also doing the same thing. Curious and alert about the time, Mizuha tapped her screen and looked at the time.

Mizuha set down her spoon in her bowl and moved her phone away from her drink. It didn't take her too long to drink the whole glass filled with orange juice. She then continued her daily routine: brush her teeth, grab her lunch, put on her shoes and leave the house.

While putting on her school shoes, her mother set her blue backpack next to her along with her black wireless headphones.

"Oh. Thanks." Mizuha said with a small sheepish grin.

"You made sure your lunch is in there?" Her mother asked with an eyebrow raised. It wouldn't be the first time she forgot her lunch... Mizuha nodded with a thumbs up before standing up and patting away any dust that might have stuck on her. Mizuha picked up her headphones and placed them on her head.

"Bye mom." She said before throwing her bag on her back and walking out the door. She heard her mother reply with her own 'bye' before she closed the door.

Along the way to school, she already had music playing in her ears. She didn't have to think about where she was going since her feet seem to guide her on the way. Three years of walking on the same path seem to have such an effect on her body. Mizuha had to take one form of transportation to school, the bus. The bus was one of the reasons as to why Mizuha would leave her house a little earlier than other students. If there was one thing she hated, it was being in a bus filled with students and being forced to endure a fifteen minute ride while being squished in between people. It's even worse when it's during the summer, heat everywhere.

Luckily, she was able to get a seat on the bus. The conductor was nice enough to wait a minute or two in case people came rushing towards the bus. Mizuha just sat by the window in silence and watched people walk and even run towards the bus. She then felt someone's elbow slightly brush against her headphones. She narrowed her eyes while she quietly kissed her teeth, and looked up at the girl who did it. Another thing that Mizuha hated, people who have no consideration about the people sitting in front of them. The girl was happily chatting with her friend while panting while holding onto the pole of her seat. She must have just gotten on the bus.

Mizuha moved an inch closer to the window while letting out an irritated breath. Byakuren and her don't live too far from each other, they used to go to school together... until he got lazy and was against the idea of waking up early when he could sleep a little more.

The bus finally began moving. Today's bus was slightly quiet. The small chatter in the back of the bus was loud enough for everyone to hear but not loud enough to bother the other passengers.

Thankfully, when they reached their stop, she didn't have to fight her way through other passengers who were standing up in the bus. The moment her foot touched the floor, she was relieved for being able to breathe in some fresh air. Her school permitted students to enter the school at 8:00 until the first bell which was at 8:30.

The first floor had two cafeterias, the students would usually gather there in the morning. However, Mizuha wasn't a fan of sitting there in the morning, nor at lunch. She was lucky to have been on good terms with a specific teacher and this teacher usually had her classroom open during both times. Mizuha always spends her time in that specific classroom. It was the perfect place to study and to do some school work. The school library was also an option... but students aren't allowed to eat there.

So like every morning, she sat down in the classroom and waited for the the 8:30 bell. Byakuren arrived at school with his typical smile at around 8:25.

Later before lunch time, her homeroom teacher told Byakuren and her to see the principal in his office before heading down to lunch. Apparently it was about their applications to U.A High School.

She and Byakuren had done quite a good job on the mock test.

Byakuren kept on a cheerful face as he walked next to Mizuha. The girl wrinkle her nose at his unusual disposition... he was a _little too_ cheerful.

"Alright, what did you do?" Mizuha asked with her eyes narrowed at him. The male next to her simply gave her a close eyed smile as he waved his hand in front of him.

"Why, such accusations hurt, _Mizu-chan_." He feigned ignorance while she only sighed in annoyance. Mizuha glared at him for the particular nickname he had given her.

"Well, let's just say I gave a couple of students a piece of my mind." Byakuren said in a sing-song voice. "They wouldn't stop pestering me."

Their middle school was... more of an outlier. The school she and Byakuren attended was a bit like the escalator system; more focused on the academic part of school. That explained the reason why very few seemed to be less enthusiastic about the idea of entering a high school that provided Hero Courses. The school and students were old-fashioned, not quite taking part in the superhuman society, believing their talents lie in other fields of society. Most of the students believed that their Quirks should be something of a like... a special talent? When the word got out that Byakuren and Mizuha were one of the _very_ few that applied to U.A. it caused for undesirable attention since they became outliers.

The two top students who did their best in every subject and received many academic awards... was going to study at an institution to help them become a hero. Oh, how it irked the others students.

Once the news about their application had gotten out, they were bombarded with questions and few insults. As much as Mizuha was tempted to hate the whole school and to just attack anyone that came up to her with her own Quirk... she knew that some people actually had a brain, to know that their decision was definitely none of their damn business. It's not like they were the only ones applying for _that_ school, but seeing as the top students from a general studies middle school was applying there... it was weird.

Mizuha found it _weird_ that they thought it was _weird_... U.A High School had their own general education department... It was an excellent place to study considering that their program was top-notch for those who wish to study other things. Oh well.

Soon enough, they both arrived at the principal's office. Byakuren didn't waste any time knocking and the door and opening it once there was a reply.

"Ah Hyoumei and Kyoran. I've been expecting you two. It won't be long." The principal said before opening one of his desk drawers. The two friends looked at each other with question marks in their eyes. They found no answer and merely shrugged to each other and looked back in front of them.

"I only need to hand you these forms. U.A High School sent them here this morning for those who applied there." He said before getting up from his desk chair and handing them both each a paper.

"Only two? Have the other students who applied to U.A already gotten theirs?" Byakuren asked suspiciously. That's one thing that Byakuren hated. He really didn't like getting things late when he should have gotten them earlier and on time.

The principal sighed, "Except for Rin Miyazaki, all the other five students have decided to go for their second choice." He said before leaning back on his brown desk. "Which brings me to the reason as to why I called you both in here... Are you both absolutely sure that you want to go to U.A. High School? This school has done the minimum when it came to Quirk Training. Unlike most schools, we did not give you much opportunity to work on your Quirks." he explained. "I would suggest that you at least list down another school just in case."

Mizuha felt a little annoyed but still understood where he was coming from, "Sir, I know and understand what you mean but, we'll be fine. We've had more than enough practice." She said with confidence.

Byakuren hummed in agreement, "That's true. Sir, did you know that Mizuha's uncle is a teacher at U.A High School? He gave us plenty of opportunities to train and work on our Quirks!"

The principal, who looked unsure, nodded slowly. "Ah yes, I forgot about that. Hmm, well, if you two are absolutely sure. I guess we can leave it at that. Good luck." he said with a gentle smile. "Alright, you may go to lunch now."

Byakuren grinned while Mizuha nodded. They both thanked him for the forms and quickly left the office.

Seeing how it was pretty nice outside, Byakuren managed to drag his friend outside to eat for a change. As much as Mizuha protested against his attempts, she figured she could go outside for once and take a break from studying and to actually eat in peace. They both ate their lunches outside at a table that was shadowed by a tree. While eating, Byakuren was reading the forms that he had just received. Mizuha on the other hand was enjoying the breeze and watching the other students play a soccer outside while she ate.

"Simple enough to fill out. We have to send these before next friday." Byakuren said to himself while nodding.

Mizuha, who heard him, added her own piece of information, "And then we'll be taking the written and practical exam in ten months. Should be easy enough. Honestly, if we attended a school that wasn't so focused on regular studies... we probably could have gotten some type of recommendation. I heard that with a recommendation you can skip the practical exam... or even both." She stated before taking a bite of her waffle.

Mizuha liked to eat something that was easy to for lunch. She knew a waffle wasn't the best choice but she liked it either way, in her defense she had like two waffles cut in squares.

Byakuren shrugged, "But anyway, those exams will be having so many students taking it and in the end-"

Mizuha cut him off and continued, "Only 1 out of 300 applicants gets in each year or even less."

Ten months to prepare for the entrance exams. Mizuha finished the last piece of her waffle before closing her container and grabbed her juice box. She thought that it was plenty of time to practice her Quirk. While drinking her juice box with her left hand, she raised her right hand and stared at it.

It was obvious to her and Byakuren that both of their Quirks were definitely the Emitter type. They were also perfect in combat if it ever came down to it. She narrowed her dark eyes. She would need to work on releasing the maximum substance of her Quirk.

Mizuha suddenly felt a blast of wind on her face. With eyes wide open, she looked at Byakuren with a surprised expression. He merely looked at her with a frown and a raised eyebrow. "It's getting cold. Stop using your Quirk." He said flatly while pointing at his own juice box. She looked closely and saw how it had some frost on the sides.

Mizuha leaned away from his juice box and let out a small chuckle. "Sorry." She said but she didn't sound sorry at all. It's not like it was a big deal anyway.

After nine months, both of them were able train with their Quirks in an area that was isolated. They couldn't just practice in public, it wasn't allowed. They couldn't display their Quirks in public except for when it came to self-defense... what were they supposed to do? Sit around and just wait for a villain to magically appear?

There was actually one incident where a student got caught by this sludge villain. It happened not too long after they got their forms. They were there and witnessed the whole thing.

 _Mizuha sighed in annoyance, "Geez, what's taking him so long? He said he needed to buy a new notebook... he's taking way too long for just a simple notebook." She groaned, she bet her left eye that he was buying something else too. Dang liar._

 _Suddenly she saw a bottle fly towards a pole that was a couple of feet away from her. She scowled in disgust as the liquid inside was released from the impact. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she saw the person who did it. He was taller than her, he had ash blonde hair with red eyes and a face that could make any baby cry without fail. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of anything else he might kick, she retreated into the store where Byakuren was in._

 _He was currently waiting in line... a long line. Mizuha's jaw dropped at the sight of it. When he saw her, he smiled apologetically while waving the notebook in hand. The people before him had carts filled with a bunch of stuff. She rolled her eyes, why couldn't he have tried to ask to go first? He was clearly going to be done before any of those other customers!_

 _Mizuha walked over to him with a frown and grabbed the notebook._

 _"Hey-!" He exclaimed in surprise, he tried reaching for it but she quickly spun around on her heel and went to the front. She was just in time, the next customer was about to start putting their articles on the counter._

 _Mizuha put on an innocent and apologetic expression, "Sorry, but can he go first?" She asked nicely while holding up the notebook._

 _The customer looked at the object in her hand before nodding with a smile, "Oh, sure! No problem!" The lady said while motioning for Mizuha to go first._

 _Mizuha thanked the lady before calling her friend over to the counter. Obviously, it didn't take them too long since they were out of the store in just a few seconds._

 _When they both finally got outside, a sudden boom was heard above them and a huge sign was falling down on them._

 _They both gasped and quickly jumped away from the sign. Another boom was heard and part of a building was crashing down towards them. Byakuren clicked his tongue in annoyance. He brought Mizuha close to his chest before swing his arm above them. She knew exactly what he was doing, so she hid her face as he hid his in her shoulder. He created a powerful tornado above them that was strong enough to tear apart the building and to reduce it into smaller fragments._

 _Once it was safe, Byakuren released her and looked behind them. Mizuha looked back as well and was surprised to see the same guy who kicked that bottle earlier. He was currently struggling and failing to get out of the grip of some sludge villain. He was yelling angrily and using his Quirk to try and escape from the villain. That's probably what must have been what caused those falling debris, an Explosion Quirk._

 _Before they could do anything, they were immediately told to move away from the scene by Death Arms. Soon enough other Pro Heroes started arriving as well._

 _Both of them had watched a green haired boy rush into the scene to try and help the other student. Judging from the uniforms Mizuha saw on the victim and on the one that tried to save him... probably from the same middle school. It was a good thing All Might showed up when he did, that green haired student almost got hurt._

The both of them were currently hanging in Mizuha's living room. They had just finished school for the day and for the week. Byakuren was busy surfing the web on his phone while Mizuha was busy playing on her PS4. Byakuren was the only one still clad in his uniform considering he didn't have any casual clothes at her house.

The two of them were pretty close. Byakuren's parents knew Mizuha's parents, and since they didn't live too far from each other, his and her parents would let Byakuren stay at Mizuha's place until 11:00 PM. Fortunately the walk from her house to his was literally five minutes away.

Mizuha growled at the screen and jammed her thumb on the circle button of her controller. "Damn it! Freaking Daemon! Noctis kill it!" She said in a loud voice.

Byakuren looked up from his phone and looked at the flat screen in the room. She was apparently struggling against a giant monster and her character was limping around the screen with low health. All her teammates in the game had their health bar on zero. Soon enough, Mizuha's character was hit by an attack and the game ended. The girl groaned in frustration before tossing her controller next to her.

The white haired male chuckled in amusement, "Having fun?" He teased.

Mizuha shot him a pissed look before going on her phone, probably to look up some information on how to beat the enemy in her game.

"By the way, when do we meet up next week?" Byakuren asked as he resumed surfing the internet. Mizuha looked up from her phone and cocked her head to the side, "What, for the entrance exams for U.A High School?"

"Yup." Byakuren replied before closing his phone and setting it down next to him.

Mizuha shrugged, she turned around and laid her body across the couch. "I don't know, but you already know that I'm going there early. I can't stand the thought of being late for something." She said lazily while keeping her eyes fixed on the white ceiling.

Byakuren nodded, "But wouldn't you rather go together? That way we can easily find each other and maybe help each other in the practical exam."

Mizuha let out a laugh, "Don't kid yourself, I ain't helping you." She scoffed with a smirk, "Besides, we _can't_ help each other. My uncle told me that they separate the students from the same school to prevent something like that from happening." She explained.

"Way to disappoint me before the exams..." Byakuren muttered with a roll of his eyes.

The next week came pretty fast.

 _ **FEBRUARY 26. 5:45 AM**_

Mizuha's phone, that was sitting on top of her headboard while being charged, suddenly rang loudly.

It didn't take her too long to move and reach for her phone. Her arm shot out from underneath the comforter and immediately touched the screen with her index. She already knew where touch since she had been doing it every morning for the past three years.

She skillfully unplugged her device from its charger and quickly brought her hand back under the blanket. She groaned in annoyance and decided to curl into a ball and cover her head with the soft material. She wasn't annoyed about walking up early, she was more annoyed about being exposed to the cool air in her room. Even though she slept with a sweater on, she still felt it. It was winter after all.

She gave herself until 6 o' clock to finally start moving. For now, she decided to use her phone for a while to keep herself awake.

By the time it was time to leave, she double checked her bag. For the entrance exam, she prepared a set of clothes that would be much easier to maneuver around in (a light blue t-shirt and navy blue sweatpants). She also brought along her pencil case for the written exam.

Her mother wished her luck as she announced that she was leaving her house. She was glad that she actually took the time to actually go to the school during a weekend to see how to get there. She didn't exactly like the idea of panicking on the first day about how to get there. She realized that she could actually walk home instead of taking the bus, which was nice since it would help her avoid getting squished in the bus during summer. She made it to U.A High School in only twenty or twenty-five minutes.

As soon as Mizuha got past the entrance, she kept walking while looking up. Apart from to lower part of the school, the rest was just blue. Giant glass windows that reflected the color of the sky. It was pretty much a sight to behold. A little, just a little... Mizuha found herself smiling at the thought of actually being one of U.A's students.

 _The school looks nice, that's for sure... I wonder what the view looks like from one of those-_

Mizuha suddenly walked into someone's back. She was so startled by it that she almost fell backwards. She wasn't dumb enough to keep her eyes glued on the school's structure and not pay attention to where she was going. No, she was paying attention! It's just that the person in front of her decided to just stop walking to admire the school!

"Ah geez, I'm sorry! I didn't know someone was behind me!" The person in front of her apologized, it was a guy. She hadn't even looked up yet since she was still looking at the floor. She was a little irritated at that point, what if this guy did it on purpose?!

She looked up and immediately saw a pair of red eyes.

 _... Geez, what's with the red eyes lately._

This guy had long black hair that framed his face and above his right eye... there was a little scar. He was probably taller than her by at least ten centimeters. She was probably staring at him a little longer than she expected, since he started waving his hand in front of her. Mizuha jolted and took a step back. She apologized for staring at him and reassured him that it was no big deal. He sighed in relief while muttering something about how it wouldn't be manly of him to scare a girl before an important entrance exam. What, did he think _she_ was scared of _him_?

He smiled at her, "Well, good luck to the both of us." He said with a thumbs up.

Mizuha honestly didn't know how to reply to that. She was aware that if she were to walk away without any type of reply... it would have been rude. Should she nod and just get on with her life or just stand there until he turns around and leaves?

... She decided to copy him.

She awkwardly put out her own thumbs up, "Y-Yeah...good luck." She repeated with a small weird grin. Apparently, he seemed satisfied with her reply since he gave her a toothy grin.

With that, Mizuha walked right past him and made a beeline for the U.A High School doors.

 _Gah, that was so weird... AND a waste of time. I should have just left without saying anything. It's not like I'm going to talk to him if he ends up getting into the same class as me. How troublesome. ... Damn it, if the possibility of that happening does come true... he'll think we can be friends. God what have I done?! I'm just creating problems for myself before I even get into the school!_

 **-x-**

 **There we go, the first chapter is done. Let me know what you think so far!**


	3. Chapter 3: Entrance Exam

Mizuha leaned her cheek in the palm of her hand and gazed down at the center of the room, where no one stood, and she waited for everyone to take their seats. In between her right hand's fingers, there was a ticket. It was an exam ticket, to be precised. Information for the practical test was written on the ticket.

 _ **Hyōmei, Mizuha** _**(** 氷明 水覇 **)** _  
_ ** _Examinee No. 1021  
_** ** _Test Location: Battle Center C_**

It turns out that, among the people checking and verifying their exam tickets ... her uncle was one of them. She just so happened to have lined up for his line. She just didn't like the way he 'greeted' her.

 _"Next." A rough voice called out._

 _The person standing in front of her walked past the person in front of them, and went to find themselves a seat. She step forward while holding out her ticket and her school I.D. She didn't even bother to at the person in front of her._

 _"Next." They said after checking verifying her identity._

 _Mizuha perked her head up at the sound of this person's voice. She looked up and laid her eyes on the person standing before her. A man that was 6'4, with onyx eyes that matched her own and with the same hair colour as well. He was holding a clipboard in his left hand and a pen in his right._

 _"Uncle Eijin..." She muttered, a grin slowly appeared on her lips, "So you're here, too?"_

 _Eijin narrowed his eyes at her, "Next." He hissed. Mizuha gaped at him before frowning and quickly scurrying off to find her seat._

She sighed and stared at her ticket with immense boredom. There was probably two or three more thousand examinees entering this dang place! Hell they might even reach a million... Mizuha groaned in annoyance, she just wanted to start learning the rules of the exam already! With nothing else to do, she folded her arms and dropped her head down on the desk. She quietly drummed her fingers against the wooden desk every once in a while to try and keep herself occupied. She would also rub her ticket against the surface in random directions with her free hand.

Suddenly, she felt someone swat the top of her head.

Mizuha's bored expression turned into one of who-the-hell-just-freaking-hit-me-I'll-kill-you look. She slowly looked up and glared, through her bang at whoever hit just laid a hand on her. She became even more annoyed once she realized who it was. It was her white haired friend and he was smiling innocently at her, apparently his seat was just in front of her. She didn't hesitate to reach out and smack him on the side of his head, which only made him laugh. He started grinned while he pulled up his ticket in front of her.

 _ **Kyōran, Byakuren**_ **(** 怳嵐 白蓮 **)  
** ** _Examinee No. 2542  
_** ** _Test Location: Battle Center F_**

Mizuha merely gave him a look that said ' _What did I tell you?_ '.

Byakuren shrugged, he turned around and sat down in his seat. She saw him pull out his phone, then he started to keep himself busy until the presentation.

The 14 year old girl just leaned back and crossed her legs. She might as well go on her phone too and wait for the rest to be seated. While reaching for her phone in her right pocket, she noticed how the seats next to her were already taken. She raised an eyebrow, how the hell did she not notice them sit next to her?

On her right, there was happy looking girl with pink hair and purplish skin. She was wearing her middle school uniform... which, normally for girls, was this type of sailor outfit. Thank god her middle school didn't have those kind of uniforms... She was more of the tie and vest type.

On her left...

Mizuha gaped for the second time that day. What a freaking coincidence. The guy from earlier was sitting next to her and right now, he looked really anxious. She was guessing he was too nervous to even notice she was sitting next to him.

Mizuha hummed quietly to herself, she reached for her phone and leaned a bit forward while keeping her head tilted down. However, her eyes were looking at his exam ticket. She was just a tad bit curious about who he was and where his battle location would be.

 _ **Kirishima, Eijir** **ō**_ **(** 切島 鋭児郎 **)**  
 ** _Examinee No. 1022  
_** ** _Test Location: Battle Center C_**

Mizuha had a dumbfounded look on her face. _The hell?_ She sighed and straightened up

The lights in the room started to dim out. Mizuha's eyebrows shot up for a moment and she noticed how a certain Pro Hero was walking towards the center of the room. A tall slender man with spiky yellow hair, dressed in black clothes. It was the one and only Voice Hero, Present Mic.

"Welcome to today's live performance! Everybody say 'Hey!'"

It was completely silent.

And with another failed attempt to try and get the middle schoolers pumped up, Present Mic began explaining the practical test (which he also mentioned that the written test comes after).

"This is how the test will go, my listeners! You'll be experiencing ten-minute-long 'mock urban maneuvers'! Bring along whatever you want! After this presentation, you'll each head to your assigned testing location!"

Mizuha looked at her ticket once more. It said she was in the 'C' location. She looked back at the screen which displayed where they were and where the battle locations were at. Did they really make seven fake cities? The amount of money that was put into those fake cities... she couldn't even imagine.

"Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle center. Points are awarded for defeating each according to their level of difficulty! Use your Quirks to immobilize these faux villains to earn those points! And of course, playing the anti-hero and attacking other examinees is prohibited!"

Mizuha's attention then went straight to the images of the faux villains and the points awarded for defeating them. She didn't bother listening to this other middle school student who started talking for... well she didn't what reason, but it didn't interest her in the slightest. The only thing she got out of that little talk was 'Examinee 7111'. What if there really a million students in here?

"... But the fourth faux villain is zero points! He's more of an obstacle! Have you played Super Mario Brothers?!"

Mizuha almost let out a chuckle at his choice of comparison.

"It's kind of like a Thwomp! Only one at each site! A 'gimmick' that'll rampage around in close quarters! It's not impossible to defeat it, but there's no reason to defeat it, either!"

Mizuha understood everything he had explained. She looked at her right hand and slowly clenched it into a fist. She was sure that her Quirk could do the job, she worked on it for the past ten months. That she definitely count for something. She heard Present Mic end the presentation with the school motto: Plus Ultra. They were given exactly ten minutes to prepare for the practical exam. While Present Mic left the center of the room, the lights began to brightened up the room. Students were now getting up from their seats so they can head to the changing rooms to change into a more suitable attire for the test.

Mizuha immediately shot up from her seat and reached down for Byakuren's shoulder. She slammed her right hand on his right shoulder. He jolted in surprise and looked back at her with a bewildered out look.

"You got a sweater in there?" Mizuha asked while pointing at his black backpack that was sitting in between his legs.

Byakuren nodded.

"Gimme." She said flatly.

Byakuren scowled, "Are you high? Where's your sweater? You always wear one!" He asked, Mizuha narrowed her eyes at him.

"I forgot to bring one! Now pass me your sweater! I don't want to get cold during the test! Hurry! Come on!" She said urgently while shaking his shoulder violently with a firm grip.

In the end, Byakuren gave up his light purple sweater. She thanked him and quickly ran for the changing rooms. She had to maneuver her way through the crowd in order to make it. She followed the signs with the female symbol while doing her combination padlock. While doing the combination, she walked straight into the girls' changing room.

 _24-54-34_

It didn't take her too long to find an empty locker. She zipped open her bag and fished out her clothes. She removed her uniform quickly and got dressed into her 'test clothes'. She grabbed Byakuren's sweater and tied around her waist for the time being. She folded her uniform nicely and placed in her locker before locking it with her padlock.

Mizuha left the changing room and went to find a sign that would help her find Battle Center C. She kept bumping into a few girls, who were on their way to the changing room, while keeping an eye out for a sign. She eventually found a green sign with the letter C written on the surface. It was pointing in the direction of a long corridor that seemed to be connected outside, judging from the bright light. She jogged lightly across the long corridor and saw a bus waiting just on the other side.

Once she reached the other side, she cocked her head. Mizuha scowled once she saw who was standing next to the bus.

She walked over to person, "Well if it isn't my least favorite uncle." She spat with a slight pout.

Eijin quirked an eyebrow, "Whaddya mean 'least favorite'? As far as I know, I'm the best uncle you ever had, you even said so yourself." He countered while removing his hands out of his pockets.

Mizuha frowned, "Not today, you didn't even say 'hi'. You just told me to move aside."

Eijin smirked, "In my defense, you were holding up the line. There was at least a hundred or more students waiting behind you. Now, get on the bus. We'll be leaving soon." He said while poking her on her forehead.

Mizuha smacked away his hand with a grimace, "Nah, I bet you didn't even recognize me. You must be getting old." She said with a little smirk. She dodged just in time to avoid a headlock from her uncle.

He waved a finger at her, "Don't ever call me old." He chided.

The niece let out a small laugh before getting on the bus.

Fifteen minutes later, the bus arrived at Battle Center C with all its candidate. Mizuha had taken a seat behind her uncle as he drove, no words were exchanged between the two of them. The chattering among the students in the bus were the only sounds that were heard along the way.

Eijin turned around and looked at all the students, "Alright, everybody out." He said while opening the bus doors.

Mizuha stood up from her seat and rolled back her shoulders before heading to the doors. Just before she could put her foot on one of the steps, her uncle clasped a hand on her shoulder. She glanced back, and she noticed how his face was next to her ear.

"A word of advice. Keep your eyes on the door." He whispered with a grin, before gently patting her shoulder and letting her go. She didn't even turn around to respond since she went to do exactly what he had told her. The Battle Center was just beyond giant white walls and an immense brown door.

Mizuna walked forward and stood in front of the giant gates. The other candidates were talking among themselves as they waited for the signal to begin. Her eyes widened once the doors opened wide... Yet, Present Mic didn't tell them to start.

Is this what her uncle was talking about?

Mizuha shrugged, she crouched down and slammed her hands on the ground. She activated her Quirk beneath her feet, a cold air swirled around them before she launched herself forward and into the air. A giant pillar of ice was all that was left when she left the concrete.

The other candidates began protesting.

"That's cheating!"

"We didn't even start yet!"

"Shouldn't she should be disqualified?!"

Present Mic's voice rang throughout the whole Battle Center, he was laughing. "Ehhh? The real question is: Why are you still standing there? There's no such thing as a starting line in battle! Get going! Time is ticking away, my listeners!" He cackled.

Cue everyone dashing into the Battle Center.

Mizuha smirked and mentally thanked her uncle for his helpful advice. Then she noticed how she was starting to fall and she was loosing speed.

She cursed, "Come on...!"

There was a building just a few feet away from her. She just needed to land on it and she would be fine! She narrowed her eyes and bit her lip. She was able to land on top of a building but she stumbled a little upon landing. Immediately after she landed, she straightened up and sped across the roof to try and find some faux villains.

She skidded to a stop a few feet away from the edge once she noticed a three-point villain down below. It was crawling towards a candidate who was getting ready to use their Quirk. Mizuha suddenly smirked darkly, _that's mine, thanks._

She created an ice lance and positioned herself to throw it down. She pulled her right arm back for a second and then threw the ice lance at the faux villain. It flew down with great speed. She watched as the lance pierced the villain in half. It fell apart in front of the candidate who was surprised and immensely confused.

Mizuha laughed in amusement before quickly running away before they could spot her. She frowned when she realized some other students were already at their sixth faux villain. They were all swarming the students like a moth to flame!

"Tche, this is not a good strategy..." Mizuha muttered to herself while feeling a slight worry. "If I want to get points quickly..." She mumbled before heading close to an edge. She glanced down, she gulped when she noticed that she was REALLY high up. She couldn't believe what she was about to do.

"I'll need to find them... and not the other way around!" She decided before jumping off the edge. While in aerial, she swung her arm downwards and created and ice slide. She bit her lip in fear when she landed on her feet. She cursed repeatedly while sliding down (almost slipped and fell four times).

Once she was close enough to the ground, Mizuha leaped off of the ice and bolted towards an empty street. From what she just witnessed, the faux villains would just emerge from inside the buildings and straight at the person that was near them.

 _That means... I'll have to attract their attention!_

Mizuha ran quickly into the streets and, as she predicted, many faux villains came busting out of the buildings. She grinned at the large number she was attracting.

One of the faux villains almost got her while she ran. Mizuha stopped running and spun around to face them. She stepped back with her right foot and slighty twisted her body to the right. She clenched her right fist tightly then opened it right before swinging her right arm towards her left side. Ice, at the height of her arm, flew straight towards the faux villains and successfully cut all of them in half like a spinning saucer.

Mizuha let out a breathe which was visible thanks to the cool air surrounding her.

"Ten three-point villains... and five two-point villains..." Mizuha counted while panting. She put her hands on her knees, she just needed to catch—

She was suddenly shoved to the side as someone ran into her. They came from an alley route.

Mizuha lost her footing and fell on the floor.

The person who ran into her looked surprised, but then his expression turned into a scowl, "Move out of my way, fodder." He spat.

Mizuha's right eyebrow twitched, "Hah? The hell—" She started but was cut off when a two point villain emerged behind the guy and had a claw raised in the air.

The girl quickly stood up and grabbed the person by the shirt. She pulled him away from the attack in just the nick of time. Just where he once stood, there was now a hole in the floor. She looked at the guy who seemed too shocked to move. Mizuha rolled her eyes, _great now he's going to piss himself._

Mizuha released him and effortlessly destroyed the two-point villain by freezing it and kicking it to the side.

"Hope you brought a change of underwear, _fodder._ " She spat before running off to find another empty place that might have more faux villains.

She decided to go with the same strategy for the rest of the practical exam. While searching for an empty area, she sniffled while running.

Mizuha cursed, "Aw, damn it..." She said in a whiny voice. _Did I really release too much? I thought the amount was just fine..._

She ended up in the complete opposite of what she wanted. Mizuha found herself with a huge crowd of middle school students who were beating their own faux villains. She grumbled in annoyance and scratched the back of her head.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet shook. Everyone stopped attacking to see what was happening. Then another shake happened... it was as if...

Mizuha's eyes widened.

 _"... But the fourth faux villain is zero points! He's more of an obstacle! Have you played Super Mario Brothers?!"_

Mizuha saw a large shadow that was starting to grow.

 _"It's kind of like a Thwomp! Only one at each site! A 'gimmick' that'll rampage around in close quarters! It's not impossible to defeat it, but there's no reason to defeat it, either!"_

She quickly turned around, and she was just in time to witness the huge fourth faux villain destroy a bunch of buildings as it approached them. It seemed to have come from underground.

Mizuha took a step backwards as she stared at the approaching threat. Many students were already running past her to get as far away as possible. She knew she had to get the hell out of there without wasting a second. As she turned around, she saw two girls on the floor...

... she immediately stopped moving. They both got up together but then they started limping. At the speed they were going, there was no way they could get away. If that thing started rampaging, then those two girls would definitely get hurt.

"LESS THAN TWO MINUTES LEFT!" Present Mic said to all the Battle Centers.

Mizuha stayed rooted in her spot as she watched them move at a snail's pace. As much as she wanted to run, she somehow couldn't.

The fourth faux villain made a movement that echoed across the entire Battle Center. Mizuha looked up, she let out a shaky breathe once she noticed that it had one of its hands in the air.

 _It's going to attack! Damn it, why am I still standing here?! People are running away, I should be too! I need more points for this test... There are only two minutes left! I can't waste time—_

 _ **I want to be the kind of person who will do anything to help people, even if it means not being able to save them myself.**_

* * *

 _Those familiar words, the words of that one person I looked up to and cherished so dearly. The words that helped me find a dream that was worth everything. They came to me and calmed my mind._

I gasped for breath before running towards the fourth faux villain. I couldn't believe what I was doing. I needed those points... but yet...

I stood behind the two girls and got into the same position as before. This time I swung my arm upwards, an immense rampart rose up all the way to the villain's height. It slammed its hand onto the ice, but it wasn't able to break it.

I cursed when I noticed that cracks had formed on the ice.

 _ **I mean... if I could be that small glimmer of hope... that's got to be worth something, wouldn't you agree?**_

I turned around and grabbed the closest person that was running past me. It was a girl that was way taller than me, she looked at me like if I was crazy.

"Help them! They can't get up! You have to help them while I—"

She pulled away her arm, "No way! You're crazy! If they can't run... then leave them there!" She said fearfully before running along with the rest of the crowd. I watched in shock as she continued on. Is this the true nature of someone who claims that they want to be a hero?

"Is lending a hand too much to ask?!." I spat angrily. I knew I couldn't keep this thing away long enough for them to escape, it just wasn't possible. If I tried making another rampart, I would be going over my limit and then I wouldn't be able to escape either. I gritted my teeth, should I risk going over my limit...? I think I'd be able to carry the smaller girl, but that would mean I'd have to leave one behind-

"HEY!"

A familiar voice called out to me. I looked around for the owner of the voice and finally spotted them carrying one of the girls on his back. It was that guy I bumped into this morning. K... Kirishima Eiji...ro? Was that his name...?

"Come on! We gotta get out of here!" He said urgently.

Needless to say, I immediately bolted to his side and carried the smaller girl on my back. The moment we both started running, my ice shattered and the fourth faux villain went on a rampage. I swear, I was so scared that I thought I'd trip while running... which would be BAD considering how I was running with someone on my back!

* * *

Everyone gathered outside of gates of the Battle Center. The practical exam was over. They were all told to hop on the bus so that they could be brought back to the school, where they would soon do the written exam.

After Hyoumei and Kirishima brought the two girls far away enough from the villain, the two girls insisted that they let them go. They were really grateful towards Mizuha, who protected them by staying behind. Mizuha merely nodded while saying it was only natural for her to do so. When they started thanking Kirishima, Mizuha took that as her cue to leave. She wasn't going to stick around when it wasn't necessary, it would only be a waste of time.

Mizuha was one of the few students who went straight for the bus. When she climbed up the steps, she noticed that the driver was different. _That's weird, where the heck did he go? Eh, whatever._

Mizuha sat behind the driver, and next to the window. It was quiet and calm. If only she could enjoy this peace before the written test peacefully..

She started sniffling.

Mizuha groaned and and leaned her head back against the backrest. _This is not the state I wanna be in when I do the written test!_

 _... at least my brain is in perfect condition..._

Mizuha zipped up Byakuren's sweater, threw on the hood on her head and just snuggled into it in her corner. She needed to get warm as soon as possible.


	4. Chapter 4: Welcome to UA High School

Mizuha stared at the envelope on her desk. She had just come home from school and just as she checked her mailbox, she found a letter from U.A High School with her name on it.

It's been a week since the entrance exam. Although she was confident about her results for the written test, she wasn't sure if she felt the same about her practical exam results. If her memory was correct, she would have accumulated forty-five points if well calculated. Forty-five. She wasn't even sure that it was enough. She probably could have scored higher if she ran away from the fourth faux villain but the thought of abandoning those girls just didn't sit right with her.

 _ **I mean... if I could be that small glimmer of hope... that's got to be worth something, wouldn't you agree?**_

Mizuha sighed heavily, "I just hope you're right." She mumbled before reaching for the envelope. She actually took the time to open the letter by opening it where it was sealed close. Her envelope looked a bit messy by the time she finally opened it. She looked inside and a confused expression was on her face.

There was a small device along with the official letter. She curiously pulled out the device and brought it close to her face. She tilted her head as she examined it closely, _Is this one of those... projection thingies?_

She shrugged and set it on her desk. She looked back at the envelope and stuck her thumb and index finger to grab the letter inside.

 _-FWOOSH!_

Suddenly, a huge projection appeared from the small device. Mizuha looked up slowly from the envelope, while even dropping it in the process. The projection was showing someone sitting in behind a brown desk... (or more like _something_ was sitting behind that desk).

"Greetings, Hyoumei Mizuha! Now please don't be alarmed, this is only a projection! I am Nezu, the principal of U.A High School, yes I know, my appearance is quite strange I get that a lot."

 _I didn't say anything..._

"I am going to inform you about your exam results. Now let's see..."

The humanoid mouse-like principal went through some papers that laid on its desk. While waiting for the principal to continue, Mizuha actually realized that her heart was pounding in her chest. Before the exams, she was confident and she was sure that she would make it to U.A High School... but now she just wasn't so sure anymore.

"Ah, here it is. Mizuha Hyoumei... your grade for the written exam is ninety percent. Very good. As for your results for the practical exam... you have a total of forty-five villains points. However, you should know that the practical exam was not just based solely on villain-points. We also evaluated you on another factor which is Rescue. Now, let's talk about your rescue-points. Please take a look at the footage we prepared."

The projection screen now displayed Mizuha pulling back someone by the shirt. She chuckled in amusement at the shocked look on the guy's face.

"Your quick thinking earned you seven points for that rescue." said the principal's voice. Then the image changed, this time it was the footage of Mizuha keeping the fourth faux villain at bay. She watched herself trying ask the girl for help and she saw how shocked and disappointed her face looked. The footage showed everything until the point where she and Kirishima ran away with the two girls on their backs.

"Now this rescue was the one that caught our attention. You, who still had the choice to run and continue on, had decided to stay and protect those two girls. We noticed how you were faced with a dilemma, you had figure out a way to save them while trying to keep away the fourth faux villain. You may not have succeeded on coming up with a solution, but you were able to buy some time until help arrived. You chose to be brave and face an overwhelming threat that could have no doubt destroyed you. You have the mark of someone who is willing to face danger for the sake of others. The mark of someone who will go against the worst odds for the sake of others. The mark of someone who is capable of self-sacrifice. That, my dear, is an important part of being a hero."

 _Self-sacrifice. Really? I don't really see myself like that..._

"Therefore, you have received a a total of twenty-five points from all of the judges! Your score for Rescue is thirty-two points!

Mizuha froze in her seat and stared at the projection screen with wide eyes.

"Your actions also allowed Kirishima Eijiro to win twelve points for rescue too!"

Mizuha's jaw dropped open. She was keeping count of the points she was receiving and she added them to her forty-five villain points. She couldn't believe it, she couldn't have possibly scored that high!

Then a score board appeared in front of her.

 **1st place: Bakugo Katsuki (Villain: 77/Rescue: 0) and Hyōmei Mizuha (Villain: 45/Rescue: 32)  
2nd place: Kirishima Eijiro (Villain: 39/Rescue: 35)**  
 **3rd Place: Ochaco Uraraka (Villain: 28/Rescue: 45)**  
 **4th Place: Ibara Shiozaki (Villain: 36/Rescue: 32)**  
 **5th Place: Itsuka Kendo (Villain: 25/Rescue: 40)**  
 **6th Place: Tenya Iida (Villain: 52/Rescue: 9)**  
 **7th Place: Izuku Midoriya (Villain: 0/Rescue: 60)**  
 **8th Place: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu (Villain: 49/Rescue: 10)**  
 **9th Place: Fumikage Tokoyami (Villain: 47/Rescue: 10)**  
 **10th Place: Yosetsu Awase (Villain: 50/Rescue: 6)**

Mizuha jumped away from her seat and gaped at the score board. _That's just not possible... I am in first place?! No, no, no, no they probably made a mistake!_

"Congratulations, Mizuha Hyoumei. You pass. Welcome to U.A High School! We hope to see you in spring!" With that, the projection video ended. Mizuha stayed rooted in her spot for what she felt was an eternity. When she snapped out of her daze, she immediately reached for her letter with shaky hands. She wanted to make absolutely sure she was accepted into the school. When she read her acceptance letter five times, reality began sinking in. She dropped her acceptance letter and raced for the home phone that was charging in the living room.

She dialed a number so fast that she might as well put any speed quirks to shame.

"Hello?" A voice picked up.

"Uncle Eijin! I need you to do me a favor!" She said rapidly with a huge grin on her face.

"Huh? What's going on-" He tried asking but he was cut off by his niece.

"You work at U.A High School right?! Then do me a favor and order some pants for me for my school uniform!" She almost shouted into the phone.

It took him a few seconds to realize what she meant by that. Eijin laughed loudly on the other line and then congratulated his niece. He then decided to try and bend the rules for her to wear the school pants as a gift for getting accepted into U.A High School. She did a small laugh and thanked him.

"You know, your brother would have been proud." Eijin said softly.

Mizuha's hand, which was holding the phone next to her ear, twitched. Her small smile on her face was slowly disappearing as her eyes cast down. She didn't reply right away. She just froze when her uncle said those words. A second later, she breathed in and gripped the phone tightly.

"Yeah, maybe." She said while trying to make her voice lighter with a small chuckle. However, her tone didn't match the dark look she had on her face.

Two weeks later, Byakuren and Mizuha made plans together to eat at a restaurant for lunch. They went to go eat at a pho restaurant that wasn't too far from where they lived. When Mizuha was eating her noodles, Byakuren casually told her he also got into U.A High School. He told her like it was no big deal. Apparently, he received his acceptance letter six days ago and he forgot to share the news. Mizuha gave him a dumbfounded look before choosing to ignore him for the rest of their meal. Despite Byakuren's numerous attempts to try and make her talk, she kept her mouth shut until it was time to pay for their food. She took out her money and gave it to him without a word.

Byakuren eyed the money on the table. "What's this?"

She rolled her eyes, "A unicorn." She said sarcastically. "Go pay for me and I'll forgive you for not telling me." She scowled before putting away her black wallet.

The white haired male only laughed, "I think you already did, you're just using it as an excuse because you're too lazy to pay." He said with a smirk before grabbing her money and walking off to the counter to pay for their food.

Well, he wasn't wrong.

* * *

 _ **APRIL - SPRING**_

Mizuha slapped her hand on her phone as the alarm went off. She unplugged her phone from her charger and turned off her alarm, she yawned as she did so. Today was her first day at U.A High School. For some reason, she woke up ten minutes before her alarm. She was actually sitting up against the wall on her bed and she was staring blankly at the wall in front of her. While ninety-nine percent of her was glad and excited to start her first day, one percent of her being was still in the process of accepting everything.

She sighed heavily, she really was going to start attending the school she always wanted to attend. Her heart pounded fast as she thought about taking her first steps in that school. She had to admit, she was getting nervous... to the point where she felt like puking.

Thankfully, Byakuren actually agreed on waking up early on the first day of school, he would be going to school with her.

She looked at her desk chair next to her bed, her uniform was placed on top of the backrest neatly. When Mizuha goes to bed, she developed a habit of dragging her desk chair near her bed. In a way, it acted like a night table.

Mizuha inched herself closer to the edge of her bed until her feet were touching the floor. She stood up and took her uniform top from the chair. The colours of the uniform actually satisfied her taste. She set aside her top and reached out for the other half of her uniform. The pants. Eijin was actually able to convince the school to let his niece wear pants to school, it wasn't quite difficult for him to accomplish.

Mizuha grinned, she was just imagining the stares she would get. A female wearing something other than the school skirt. While the reactions did interest her, she would not hesitate to kick someone who would insult her for it.

At 6'o clock, Mizuha was already on her way to the bathroom to pee and to wash her face. Her mother was already awake and making breakfast in the kitchen, along with her lunch. When Mizuha was done washing her face, she plugged in the hair straightener. There was something that Mizuha didn't really like about her hair... it was the fact that her hair... tend to curl a little... It was very annoying. Straightening her hair was probably the only 'girly' thing that Mizuha always did in the morning.

Mizuha brushed her hair before straightening it. She carefully placed her bangs where they were supposed to be. She was glad she decided to cut them before school started because they were all the way to middle of her left cheek. Now, they were just above her eye.

When she was done with the bathroom, she went straight into her room and got dressed in her uniform. It took her a minute to get dressed and to fix her collar in front of the mirror. Before leaving her room, she grabbed her phone. _Gotta get my daily dose of watching videos in the morning._

She took her seat at the table. Her mom made noodles for breakfast this time, her favorite type of food. Mizuha opened her phone and searched for a video to watch. She was in the mood for something funny. Once she found something, she placed her phone in front of her glass of apple juice. She grinned and grabbed her chopsticks to start eating. Her mother, who finished preparing her lunch, finally sat down at the table to also eat her breakfast. She eyed Mizuha, who was slurping on her noodles.

"So, how do you feel?" Her mother asked casually. Mizuha looked away from her screen and furrowed her eyebrows but then she understood what she meant. First day of school... first year in high school. Well, she figured she should be honest with her mom, it's not like she had any intention of lying.

"I feel like puking." Mizuha said with a small grin.

Her mother puffed out some air before rolling her eyes, "Why are you nervous?"

"Why do you think? First day of school-"

"This happens every year, you always get some type of anxiety." Her mother said while effectively cutting her off.

Mizuha pouted, "So? I can't help it." She grumbled.

At 7:33, Mizuha was ready to leave, all she had to do now was wait for Byakuren to knock at her door so that they could leave for school together. He told her via LINE that he was heading to her place at 7:28... funny how he wasn't there yet. When he did arrive, he was punched on the arm for taking too long.

While Byakuren apologized with a smirk, he noticed Mizuha's mom walking towards the front door. "Oh! Hello auntie~!" He greeted with a close eyed smile while waving his hand.

Mizuha's mother smiled, "Hi Byakuren." She greeted back.

The two didn't have much to say since Mizuha was getting impatient to leave for school. She ushered Byakuren to start walking as she said 'bye' to her mom, Byakuren did the same thing.

The two of them walked side by side while talking about random things, mostly about how they were preparing what they needed for school before going to bed. They had just gotten their student I.D cards in the mail since the entrance of the school had a security gate. This gate would automatically close if someone does not have a student I.D card or a Special Entry Permission I.D. Apparently, Byakuren misplaced it and he had to go ask his mother for help to find it. After all, no one knows how to find things better than your own mother. She ended up scolding him throughout the entire search while he sheepishly nodded and apologized.

When they reached the bus stop, the two of them were listening to music. Mizuha was more of a wireless headphone type since her and wires don't really get along. She has a bad history of always having to buy new earphones. If breaking earphones was a crime... then she'd be wanted. Byakuren on the other hand had a better relationship with wires.

Once they got on the bus, they both made a beeline for available seats. Mizuha sat next to the window on her left while Byakuren sat next to her on her right. Mizuha kept her eyes glued on the window for the majority of the ride to school. She just watched everything pass by with immense boredom. She didn't even realize how much time had passed considering that when Byakuren tapped her shoulder, it only felt like four minutes had passed. She followed him out of the bus and then they both walked silently. They were both engrossed with either their music or their phone.

Mizuha pulled her phone from her pocket to check the time. It was exactly 8 o' clock, and if she remembered correctly then class would start at 8:50. Mizuha hummed with a nodded before putting away her phone, she was satisfied by the amount of extra time she had.

Eventually, after a short walk, they made it to the school. Once again, Mizuha was amazed by the structure of the school. She probably would always look up and stare while walking for at least a week.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, what class are you in?" Byakuren asked curiously as they approached the doors. Mizuha was able to hear him through her music despite her noise cancelling headphones. She slid them down her head and let it rest around her neck.

Mizuha pulled out her student I.D card from her wallet and showed it to him without a word. With her free hand, she pulled the door open as he kept looking at her card. Then as they entered the building, she put away her card back in wallet. Byakuren hummed and nodded, then he pulled out his own I.D and checked his class.

"Looks like we're in the same class this year. Class 1-A." Byakuren said with a close eyed smile. He then threw an arm around her shoulders as they looked for their class. "Will you try and make friends?" He asked while keeping his eyes in front of him but he knew that she was staring at him the moment he asked her that question.

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at him, "No." She affirmed before looking back in front of her. He sighed and she felt his weight on her shoulders when he heaved down his chest. She didn't know why Byakuren kept trying to make her befriend people, he knew perfectly well the subject of friendships, trust and other emotional things was not a positive thing for her. She was glad that he didn't push it though.

After a while of searching, they finally found the door to their classroom. Byakuren, who still had his arm around her shoulders, gaped at the size of the door. Mizuha's eyes were wide as she looked up. They thought the height of the door was quite an exaggeration along with the giant 1-A written on it. Mizuha glanced towards her left and she spotted the next door class' door. Class 1-B's door was just as huge as Class 1-A's.

Byakuren looked at her with grin, "Shall we go in?" He asked before releasing her from his hold. She nodded without a word and put her headphones on her head once again.

Her white haired friend effortlessly slid the door open just enough for the two of them to enter together. Byakuren was the one to take the first steps into the classroom while Mizuha was following him closely behind. Her eyes darted around the classroom to see if anyone was there.

There was actually five people inside the classroom. She saw a guy with blond hair (with a black streak in shape of a lightning bolt) talking with a girl with purplish skin. Mizuha realized it was the same girl that sat next to her during the presentation of the practical exam. Then there was a girl with dark purple hair sitting alone, Mizuha noticed how her ears had plug-like earlobes. The two other people were also sitting alone, a girl with long dark green hair and some guy with red spiky hair.

When they heard the door open, they all looked in their direction. Mizuha didn't pay attention to them since she kept her gaze on the floor as she walked behind Byakuren. Her friend on the other hand did a friendly wave with a close eyed smile.

Suddenly, an authority-type-like voice was heard. This caught both their attentions, they both turned their heads towards the source of the voice. Mizuha squinted one eye and furrowed an eyebrow at the sight of the person. A 5'2 guy with bluish black hair was marching over to them.

"I'm from Somei Private Academy. My name is Īda Tenya. I am also in class 1-A." Iida introduced himself with weird hand gestures that reminded them of a robot as he walked towards them.

Byakuren and Mizuha sweat dropped at the sight of him. The way he spoke, his posture and his rectangular half-rimmed glasses just screamed the word serious. The white haired male then grinned, "I'm Byakuren Kyoran, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance Iida." He said after choosing his words carefully.

Mizuha silently snickered at his behavior. Only she would ever know the truth about Byakuren's real personality. While he is indeed a kind person, it shouldn't be wise to let his cheerful demeanor fool you. He hides his malicious, cunning and calculating ways underneath his layer of cheerfulness. Mizuha assumed he turned out this way after they turned eleven.

If she was the brains in the academic field then he was the brains when it came to the field of battle. Having the mind of a tactician seemed to have that effect on his personality as they grew up.

Byakuren slid her headphones down to her neck and placed his hand on top of her head. Mizuha looked at him with a frown, oh how she missed the days when she was the taller one.

"And this is Mizuha Hyoumei. We come from the same middle school." He introduced her to Iida, Mizuha sighed in annoyance. She could of done her own introduction or... just walk away.

Iida looked at her with a nod. "It's nice to meet you two. I hope we get along this year!" He said seriously, which made Mizuha mentally roll her eyes. She knew better than to show such a rude gesture to someone who hadn't done anything to her.

... yet.

She watched as Iida's eyebrows shot up, his eyes seemed to be staring at her legs.

"Hyoumei, I think you've made a mistake. You seem to be wearing the male's uniform pants and not the female's uniform skirt." He explained while moving his hands again. Mizuha raised her eyebrow at him. At least he didn't insult her like she predicted. "You should probably get the correct uniform." He advised.

Mizuha shook her head, "No, I know what I am wearing." She replied with an uninterested tone. Her eyes looked away and they landed on the teacher's desk.

Byakuren laughed lightly, "Ah, don't worry about it, Iida~" He said in a sing song voice. Mizuha then took that as her cue to leave the two and to go ahead and claim a seat. She heard him explain how she received permission to wear pants by the school.

Mizuha always preferred to sit at the front of the class. It was the best place for her since she didn't like always moving around in her seat to see the black board when she had to write down notes. She also wanted to sit somewhere that was close to the door that way when the bell rings she can just head straight for the door and leave the classroom.

She finally selected a suitable seat and dropped her bag on top of the desk. She walked around the desk and pulled back the blue chair. She sat down on her seat and then pulled out her phone from her pocket. It was now 8:25 AM. No doubt that more students that belong to 1-A would soon be arriving.

She breathed in deeply before letting out a heavy breathe. Everything was fine so far, nothing to worry about. She should use this time to calm her nerves and just wait patiently for class to start. She watched from the corner of her eye and followed Byakuren's figure that was walking past her to find himself a seat. Unlike her, he didn't care about where his seat was and wasn't a fan of sitting in the front.

Mizuha put her phone back in her right pocket then reached for her school bag. She heard a chair scratch against the floor followed by walking footsteps. She was putting her bag underneath her desk but then she started feeling alarmed when she heard the footsteps approaching her from behind. She even sensed someone walking towards her. She narrowed her eyes, if she remembered correctly then the student with spiky red hair was sitting somewhere behind her that was closer to her seat.

"Hey there."

Mizuha frowned but then made her frown disappear when she turned to look at the person. She furrowed her eyebrows when she saw their face. He looked very familiar and the little scar above his right eye was enough to give away who he was. The only thing that threw her off was his spiky red hair. _I thought he had black hair?_

"Um, hi." Mizuha replied with an unsure tone. She decided to ask, "Are you... the one I bumped into?" She asked him slowly, she desperately hoped she was right.

His face lit up and he smiled, "Yeah that's me! I'm surprised you remembered! I also sat next to you during the entrance exams if you didn't notice." He pointed out. She wanted to ask about his hair, but that wasn't any of her business. Now that she got a good look at him, Mizuha had to admit that he looked cool with his hair up. Maybe because she could clearly see his face now? She wasn't sure.

"My name Kirishima Eijiro. What's your name?"

She hesitated, "Mizuha. Hyoumei Mizuha."

He grinned at her and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, Hyoumei I just wanted to say that the way you protect those girls during the practical exam... You were really brave when you went up against that fourth villain. " He said then pulled his hand away from his neck. He smiled at her and leaned back against a desk behind him.

"I was so moved by your heroic act that I couldn't help but do the same! I was even able to earn more rescue points because of you!" He explained. This wasn't news to her at all, now that she thought about it she did want to tell him something too. It was important for her to say it since she was very disappointed with what she witnessed that day.

"Kirishima, you deserved those points. When people ran away, you stayed behind and actually helped people who were in danger. Without your help, three people would have probably been in danger. You were actually the only other hero there who was willing to help me and them." She told him while looking at her desk and drumming her fingers against it. "So, thanks." She finished with a mumble before looking back at him. It felt so weird to thank him for helping her.

Kirishima's face looked shocked. Mizuha suddenly felt deflated since she thought she might have said something wrong. If that was the case, she'll probably just keep her mouth shut for the rest of the year. However, she was proven wrong when he gave her a toothy grin.

"Thanks Hyoumei! You know, you're pretty cool!"

Mizuha suddenly felt anxious and was no longer paying attention to him. She stared at him as he kept talking but all she could think about is that she was doing the opposite of what she was supposed to be doing. She was supposed keep her distance when it came to her new classmates. This conversation she was having was like as if it was the key to becoming friends or something. She was mentally panicking.

"-weird to say but you were manlier than those guys-"

 _Damn it, I'm in trouble. What do I do?! He's really acting like we just became friends..._

Suddenly she saw Byakuren casually walking behind Kirishima. He shot her a smirk and chuckled at her predicament when he kept walking.

 _Bastard._

Mizuha was not the kind of person who would act like... for the lack of a better word... a bitch, when it came to pushing people away. Her methods were more... subtle. Her ways involved keeping her distance and avoiding them as much as possible, while still being respectful.

... Honestly, it's been a while since she's had to use this strategy.

 **-x-**

 **Thank you for your review DrVelmaFraud ! I really appreciate it (I've been so anxious for a review)!**


	5. Chapter 5: Quirk

After enduring a short conversation and struggling to attempt to be patient with Kirishima, Mizuha was finally left alone. After her red haired classmate left her alone, she watched him walk away and slumped in her chair after she was sure no one was looking at her. She looked up at the ceiling and frowned. She could do this, it shouldn't be any problem to keep up her facade. She just had to keep telling herself that. It really shouldn't be too hard, she's done this plenty of times before. She sat back up on her chair and was then faced with Byakuren's smirking face. He was standing in front of her desk with his hands in his pockets. She scowled at him as he leaned forward on her desk so he could be at her eye level.

"How's it going, _Mizu-chan_?" Byakuren asked teasingly.

Mizuha raised her right hand and aimed it at his head which he dodged effortlessly by ducking a little. She lowered her hand and looked away from him.

"Shut the hell up, _Byakkun_." She shot back with a sour tone. "You already know 'how's it going'. You're not the blind one."

Byakuren merely gave her a close eyed smile, "I know what can help you. Try making friends this year." He whispered with a hand next to his mouth. Mizuha only replied by sticking her tongue out at him. The white haired teen sighed before standing up straight and shrugging. He left her alone by saying it was worth a try to convince her. She then took out her phone to check the time once more. There was only ten more minutes until the start of class, she figured she might take a short walk in the hallway. She yawned and pushed her chair back as she stood up. There was one thing she had to make sure of...

She turned around to search for Byakuren. It was quick to spot him. He was talking in the back with Kirishima and the guy with blond hair and the black lightning bolt streak. Mizuha let out a heavy sigh before walking over to him. Her two new classmates had their backs turned while Byakuren could clearly see her walking in their direction. While he was in the middle of talking, he perked his head up with a confused expression when he saw her. The two other boys turned around when they noticed he was looking past them.

Mizuha felt nervous on the inside but she maintained a straight face on the outside. She didn't look at the two but merely kept her eyes on Byakuren.

"Make sure no one takes my place, I'll be back." Mizuha told him while pointing at her seat behind her with her thumb. Byakuren hummed with a nod and Mizuha immediately turned around to start walking to the door.

As she reached for the door handle, the door slid to the side as someone on the other side opened it. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and she looked up at the person in front of her. She came face to face with a visage that had red orbs and at the sight of her their face twisted in annoyance. He was taller than her and his spiky ash blond hair striked her as something familiar. However, before he could say anything, she quickly stepped aside and patiently waited for him to enter the classroom as she stared at something on the floor. She heard them huff before entering the classroom without a word. Mizuha took a quick glance at his person while quickly slipping away from the classroom.

Mizuha decided to just take a short walk towards her left, she didn't feel like getting lost on the first day of school. As she walked, she thought about the person she saw just a few seconds ago. It didn't take her too long to realize it was the same guy she saw while she waited for Byakuren outside a store. The same guy who kicked a bottle at a pole which splattered open a few feet away from her.

She sighed while walking, she made sure not to wander too far from her classroom. Mizuha slowly felt her lips tug to the sides as she thought about the new things she was going to learn. She was good at studying and earning academic rewards for her work but being in a hero class meant doing practical classes. That was something that was entirely different from physical education. After years of receiving praises for her academic achievements, she grew quite fond of them and she liked rubbing it in Byakuren's face. She just hoped she could live up to her teachers' expectations in U.A High School. Mizuha began wondering if she'd have to change any habits. She still had no idea if the studies at U.A was at a different level, she never asked her uncle about t.

 _Am I going to have time be lazy? Can I still play video games? Am I going to have time for myself? History shouldn't be a problem... I'll just do what I always do, rewrite all my notes as many times as I can the night before, that always works... Or am I going to have to change that habit and study a few days ahead before the exam? What about math...? I should be fine, I'm pretty much ahead in math... My level of math should be at a second year's level... What about—_

Mizuha was pulled away abruptly from her thoughts when someone ran past her while shoving into her left side. Her straight face turned into a surprised one as she steadied herself so she wouldn't fall forward.

The girl, that ran into her, merely laughed while saying something about someone being slow. Mizuha quirked an eyebrow up and quickly moved away from her spot, and as expected there was someone else running behind her. It was another girl, who was also laughing. They were probably racing each other to their classroom.

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at them from behind. They didn't even apologize. That was _definitely_ proof of their respectful manners in public. She huffed in annoyance before turning around and walking straight back to Class 1-A classroom.

"Goddamn rude people." She muttered darkly, "Idiots." She spat before sliding her classroom door open and entering (with a more pleasant expression that did not scream I-HATE-IDIOTS but an expression that was rather neutral).

* * *

After the final student entered the classroom, their homeroom teacher was revealed. He came out of a yellow sleeping bag like it was the most normal thing to do. Mizuha's eyes widened when she laid her eyes on him. Messy black shoulder length hair, half opened black eyes, black clothing... there was no doubt about it. It was Aizawa Shōta. Mizuha's hands fisted on her lap. _This isn't going to be good._

"It took you eight seconds for you to quiet down. Time is a precious resource. You lot aren't very rational, are you?" Aizawa said while looking at all of the students in the classroom with tired eyes. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Shouta Aizawa. Pleased to meet you."

Mizuha put her right hand on her desk and leaned her cheek into her palm while staring at him with an eyebrow raised. She watched him pull out a set of gym clothes which was blue with the school's initials written on top. He held it up in front of everyone.

"Change into your gym clothes and head out onto the field." He said before walking out of the classroom and most likely to the field.

Mizuha wasted no time grabbing her gym clothes and her combination padlock after he left the classroom. In fact she was the first person to leave the classroom after him. She knew where it was, her uncle drew out a simple layout of the school on a paper and explained everything to her. She was glad that she knew someone who was quite familiar with the school. She was already undoing her tie on the way there along with unbuttoning her grey top. When she arrived, she was the first one to set foot in the changing room. She went for the nearest locker that was hidden from the door (she didn't want anyone opening the door and letting any passersby accidentally seeing her change).

She had already finished folding her top uniform after changing into her gym top when she heard the other girls enter the changing room. She glanced at them from the corner of her eye before quickly looking back at what she was doing.

"And my name is Ashido Mina!" was the first thing Mizuha heard. They were no doubt all getting to know each other on the way to the changing while she rushed there. They probably didn't realize she was already there since they were asking among themselves if there was actually another girl in class.

"Hm, yeah. There was a girl that came in with that guy with the white hair... I saw them together this morning... did she get lost?"

"You're right, Jirou!" Ashido said with a small gasp. "I saw her too!" She added.

Mizuha rolled her eyes as she finished changing into her gym pants. She folded her uniform pants neatly and set them gently on her top. Mizuha paused for a moment before reaching for her small pocket on her bag, she fished for a hair tie just in case she might need it. She almost forgot to put her phone in her pocket, there was absolutely no way she was leaving it in her locker. She didn't trust the security in the changing room. It was only after she closed her locker and locked it that the other girls realized her presence because of the metallic noise.

"Oh! There she is!" Ashido exclaimed. Mizuha then heard footsteps quickly walking towards her, so she turned around the face the person. She was facing a girl that was about her height, she had dark eyes with yellow irises, small little horns on her head, pink hair and purplish skin... How could she possibly forget those two last details? She saw this girl at the entrance exams and she was sitting right next to the pink haired teen. Judging by the beaming smile on her face... she was probably the social friendly type... In other words, her complete opposite.

Her pink haired classmate energetically introduced herself and then the other girls added their own introductions while they changed into their gym clothes.

There was Kyōka Jirō, the girl with the earlobes that looked like earphone jacks. A walking uniform named Tōru Hagakure. The tallest girl whose hair was tied back into a spiky ponytail, Momo Yaoyoruzu. Tsuyu Asui, a girl that strongly reminded her of a frog. And finally, a short girl with short brown hair that was also very friendly, Ochaco Uraraka.

Even if she didn't plan on being friendly with them, she can't forget their names. Her memory was too good that she couldn't forget even if she tried.

Soon, much to her dismay, Mizuha had to do introduce herself to her female classmates.

"Um, my name is Hyoumei Mizuha..." Mizuha said while keeping one hand behind her neck and the other in her pocket.

Suddenly she saw Uraraka, in her gym clothes, dash towards her with a shocked expression. "OH! You were ranked first in the entrance exam!"

 _Uwah... great... now I have their complete attention... damn._

* * *

Mizuha walked out of the changing room looking tired and drained. She lazily started walking towards the field while regretting every word she said. She was able to satisfy their curiosity by telling them everything that happened and they finally stopped asking her things. It's not like she was going to make up some lie that would probably cause problems for her later on. Plus, Kirishima was in their class.. so if they ever asked him what happened they would know if she lied. Thankfully, she was able to casually slip away once they weren't looking.

Mizuha went down the stairs while staring outside the glass window. She saw Aizawa waiting outside for the rest of his students to gather. There was only a few guys down there, including Byakuren. She would be the first girl to arrive at the field considering how the other girls were taking their sweet time... or maybe because she was too quick.

When she finally set foot outside, Aizawa was the first to notice her. He told her to not drag her feet as she walked. Funny, she was sure she wasn't. She stood next to Byakuren, who was busy talking with his new little friends. She didn't want to interrupt his conversation so she decided to stay silent next to him.

Two minutes later, everyone was present on the field. Shōta wasted no time on telling them what they were doing. Instead of wasting time on introducing what their curriculum was for the year, they would start by testing their Quirks. Apparently, U.A High School is known for their 'freestyle' education... which also applies to the way the teachers run their classes.

Aizawa looked at everyone, "You kids have been doing these since middle school, right? Physical fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your Quirks. The country still insists on using the averages taken from results from students not using their Quirks. It's not rational. Well, the Ministry of Education is procrastinating." He explained which made Mizuha scowl as she remembered her middle school.

Mizuha's middle school leaned more towards the non-Quirk lifestyle. The students did not have any opportunity to use their Quirks at school. However, some other middle schools permitted their students to use their Quirks during a free P.E class. Those classes were not evaluated. Her middle school never had those free classes. Thankfully, her uncle was able to help her and Byakuren work on their Quirks when they were all free which was pretty often.

"Bakugo, how far could you throw in middle school?" Aizawa adressed to the guy standing by her right. The same guy that kicked the bottle.

"Sixty-seven meters." He answered.

Aizawa moved away from the center of the field and used his chin to point at the circle, "Great. Now try it with your Quirk." He said while Bakugo was already on his way to the center on the drawn circle. "You can do whatever you want as long as you stay in the circle. Hurry up. Give it all you got."

Everyone watched silently as he stretched a little to prepare himself before throwing the soft ball. Suddenly, with a crazed look, he threw the ball with his Quirk while yelling out the word 'die'. Mizuha's eyebrows shot up as his Quirk went off, they were still as powerful as she first saw it last year. His explosion caused a gust of wind to fly in all of their faces. She had her arms crossed on her chest as her long hair flew back from the gust, she frowned and squinted her eyes. They all watched as the ball flew far and then dropped down.

Their teacher then turned around and held up his phone. "It's important for us to know your limits. That's the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you'll be."

 ** _705.2 m_**

 _Wow, it shot up by 638.2 m._

"Hm, impressive." Byakuren nodded with a smile.

Mizuha stayed quiet as everyone began saying how fun it'll be to finally use their Quirks in the hero course. She only sighed as she kept in mind that this was school and school meant tough stuff. It wasn't going to be all fun and games that's for sure.

"Awesome you say?" Aizawa repeated the words that were said. He then loomed over, "You have three years to become heroes. Will you have an attitude like that the whole time? Alright then, the one with the lowest score across all eight tests will be judged hopeless and will be expelled." He said with with growing grin.

"WHAAAT?!"

Mizuha blinked lazily, _So... do your absolute best? Alright._

After complaining about how unfair it was. Aizawa merely told them that the world was unfair and heroes were the ones to correct this unfairness. During their next three years, they will be pushed to their absolute limits and even beyond, and they will have to overcome every single hardship. Mizuha breathed in deeply before letting out her breathe. She chose this so she wasn't going to complain at all... okay maybe she will about the regular studies like math and all that normal stuff but everything hero related gave her no right to complain.

They started off with the fifty meter dash.

Mizuha and Byakuren were waiting for the signal as they kept their eyes in front of them and with their ears attentive on the robot's voice.

"On your mark... get set..." A second later the signal went off.

Byakuren took a large step forward before jumping up into the air. He smirked and produced a large wind vortex in front of him that pulled him directly towards the finish line. His landing wasn't graceful considering how he almost stumbled onto his face.

 ** _Name: Kyouran, Byakuren  
_** ** _Quirk: Tornado, he can manipulate the air around him to create powerful whirlwinds which he can bend._**

Mizuha on the other hand merely jumped forward and let an ice floor drive her all the way to the end.

Byakuren: 5.02 secondsMizuha: 6.03 seconds

Mizuha shivered as her legs felt a little cold. She walked next to Byakuren as they both went to the group that had already did their fifty meter dash. The platinum haired student figured this might as well help them discover how creative they can get with their Quirks, their limits of their Quirks and also knowing what they can or can't do... for now. Mizuha looked at Aizawa only to notice he was staring at her. Her eyes widened as he gazed at her curiously. She quickly looked away with a frown before walking a head of Byakuren. That was too quick, there was no way he would remember... or at least know what she was hiding. She shoved her hands in her pockets and clenched her fists in secret.

The rest of the tests went well. Except for that one time Aizawa had to erase a student's Quirk. What was his name again? Midoriya? Apparently, his Quirk renders him in a incapacitated state and well... Aizawa did not approve of that. From what she heard around her, Midoriya had actually defeated one of the fourth faux villain during the entrance exam. She couldn't believe he went up against one of those monsters. If he were to be in that state, then he was obviously going to need help or in their teachers words 'inconvenience those around you'. He even went as far as saying he couldn't be a hero if he were to continue on like that.

Mizuha was pretty surprised to see that he chose to still cause damage to himself but in a way where he could still continue on.

... And then he had to erase Bakugo's Quirk since that one wanted pummel Midoriya (judging by that angry look on his face).

What bothered her the most was the fact that Aizawa kept giving her knowing glances every time she completed a test. It kept her on edge and she tried to avoid eye contact with him as much as possible.

After collecting all of the results of all the students, he presented them the board of their rankings. Mizuha searched for her name by starting from the last person. She found her name next to the number six. She frowned a little as she saw the number, she was actually hoping to at least by in the top five. She rubbed the back of her neck and didn't pay attention to Aizawa as she kept her eyes glued on her name. _Six shouldn't be too bad though. I guess it's alright._ Aizawa pressed something on his phone and the board vanished.

"Anyway, we're done here. Your documents about the curriculum and such are in the back of the classroom. Give them a look." Aizawa said while approaching Midoriya. He pulled out a paper that permitted him to go and visit the nurse's office. He told him to go get healed since the next tests weren't going to be any easier.

Just when Mizuha thought she could relax, Aizawa called her name out. She looked up feeling agitated and she was faced with the same knowing gaze.

"Hyoumei, after school, I want to speak to you in the teachers' office." He said before walking off in another direction. Mizuha watched his leaving figure as her fist shook in her pocket. She didn't like this at all.

Byakuren was staring at her silently, he could see her biting her lip in annoyance as well as the slight shaking movement of her arm that indicated that her hidden fist was shaking. He sighed before reaching an arm out to her shoulder and pulling her to his side. She spun around limply and followed him as they walked back to the school before anyone else. He kept an arm around her as they walked and she kept her narrowed eyes on the school building.

"He knows?" Byakuren asked lowly.

Mizuha let out a hollow laugh, "Oh he definitely knows because he remembers it." She spat out sourly. She knew she shouldn't be angry at Aizawa, especially since he was now her teacher. Plus, he didn't know what was going on right now. It was only natural that he would ask her about it and ask her _why_.

Her white haired friend used his hand to ruffle her hair, "Just answer him honestly."

She rolled her eyes, "I doubt I could come up with a lie to explain it."

* * *

 **LUNCH TIME**

After Mizuha went to the bathroom, she went straight for the cafeteria. Byakuren told her he was going to wait for her at the entrance so that they could find a table together and with the nice view that the school presented them with... she _wanted_ to sit somewhere near a window!

When she arrived, she found him leaning back against the frame of the entrance while looking at his phone. Mizuha stood in front of him and leaned forward above his phone to peek under his bangs. Her onyx orbs were faced with his light purple ones that displayed a clear annoyance. She only smirked and moved away from his bubble.

"Let's go, I'm hungry." She said as she tugged on his arm. He put away his phone and walked into the cafeteria with her. There was many students in the lunch line and they were soon going to be joined by Byakuren once they found their table. She chose a seat that was facing the window. Byakuren chose the one in front of her. As Mizuha pulled the chair back and took her seat, Byakuren dropped his bag on the chair and went to go line up to get his own lunch.

Mizuha didn't really like the idea of eating school food, not after what she saw during her time in middle school. She didn't understand how eighty-nine percent of the food during the whole school year looked like goat feces. But she figured since she was in good school... she might as well try eating the food here and save her mother the trouble of making her a lunch.

She zipped her bag open and pulled out the plastic bag that trapped her food. She effortlessly undid the knot and pulled out the container that kept her lunch locked away. Her lunch was the same. It was waffles once again. She opened the container and grabbed a small piece of her disassembled waffle before chewing on it slowly.

Compared to her mood from this morning, she was alright now. She had calmed down and thought about the reasons as to why Aizawa would call her into the office. It was alright, it was normal for him to ask questions. It was okay.

After finishing her third piece, three trays appeared on the table. One in front of her, next to her and diagonally from her. She raised an eyebrow up and looked up at the owners of the trays. In front of her was Byakuren, next to her was...

 _Dear lord._

Next to her was Kirishima and next to Byakuren was the guy with blonde hair.

She instantly looked at Byakuren with panicked eyes. Her eyes screamed _WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!_ at him. He rolled his eyes at her before taking his back and sitting on the chair.

"They didn't have a table so I let them sit with us." He said flatly without looking at her. He was more engrossed with his food, he was starving.

Kirishima smiled at her, "Do you mind?" He asked her while pointing at the seat next to her. Mizuha mentally gulped before nodding silently, she reached for her bag and moved it away from him. She kept her bag on the table and put her container inside as it remained open. She felt awkward as the two guys started eating at her table and making conversation with Byakuren. She was just there nibbling on her waffles and feeling awkward with every second that passed. Mizuha wasn't comfortable with the idea of eating with other people around, it just made her feel like... strange and nervous.

Thankfully, she was able to finish eating only a minute after they arrived. All that was left was to drink her mango juice from her juice box.

"Oh, yeah. Mizuha, this is Denki Kaminari, I was talking with him this morning." Byakuren said while pointing at the blonde guy next to him. Kaminari greeted her with a 'heya' while she merely nodded while raising her eyebrows a little and then going back to sipping on her juice.

"So like, I'm just curious. Kyouran, Hyoumei, you guys seem pretty close... are you guys dating?" Kaminari asked curiously as the two people in question had their eyes narrowed at the question. Kirishima was also curious about the answer so he watched their reactions.

Byakuren looked at him with a _are-you-kidding_ look while Mizuha looked at him with a _what-the-hell_ look. Then Byakuren gave him a close eyed smile, "Maybe, what do you think?"

At that moment, Mizuha kicked his leg under the table making him jump in his seat while yelping out in pain. He glared at her as she innocently pulled out her phone from her pocket and started surfing the web.

"I mean you guys are on a first name basis." Kirishima pointed out.

The white haired teen merely laughed heartily, "You're right. Hmm, yeah maybe we are dating-"

He was cut off when Mizuha slammed her foot onto his. Byakuren held in a curse before quickly standing up to loom over her. "I was joking! Stop it!" He growled lowly in front of her.

Mizuha smirked darkly, "Make me, _Byakkun_."

Their two classmates sweat dropped at their interaction. They watched as Byakuren sat back down in his seat, grabbed his fork and stabbed it into his food. Mizuha scoffed and went back to her electronic device. The red haired teenager scooped up some of his food, "They're not dating." He confirmed before putting the spoon in his mouth.

Byakuren shook his head rapidly while pushing his chair a little further away from her.

* * *

 **AFTER SCHOOL**

Mizuha stood in front of the teachers' office. Byakuren had told her he would be waiting for her outside of the school while she spoke with Aizawa. She breathed in deeply and relaxed as she breathed out. She reached for the door handle and slowly pulled it to the side, inside revealed her teacher at his desk going through some papers. He wasn't alone in the office, Present Mic was sitting next to him and talking to him about something she did not know about.

Present Mic, also known as Hizashi Yamada, was quick to notice her.

"Hm? Little listener, do you need something?" The voice hero asked curiously and before she could answer him her teacher did it for her. "I called her in here." Aizawa said without looking up from his desk.

"Eh, it's first day of school and you're already calling in students to the office? How strict."

Aizawa finally looked up from his papers, he glanced at his colleague, "Could you let us talk in private?"

Present Mic didn't question him. He got up from his seat while whistling and made his way to the door, Mizuha stepped out of his way and kept her gaze somewhere else as he passed by her. Aizawa then called her to come closer to his desk instead of just standing fifteen feet away from him. She wasted no time obeying her teacher and was at his side very quickly.

He turned around in his desk chair to face her. "I assume you know why you're here."

Mizuha nodded slowly, "Yeah..."

The black haired hero nodded before reaching for a paper on his desk. "Then let's get straight to the point." He said before looking at the paper. "Why did you lie about your Quirk? It says here that your Quirk is cryokinesis and only _cryokinesis,_ but that's not entirely true. You and I both know you can manipulate water in its different phases by changing the temperature... solid, liquid and gas."

Mizuha swallowed as he threw the truth right in her face. "In the hero course, you're going to have to use your Quirk completely and not just part of it. Do you understand?"

Mizuha just stared back at him without answering which only made him narrow his eyes at her. "Hyoumei, did you hear me?"

"It's not like I'm choosing not to use my full Quirk... I _can't_ use it. I can only control its solid form." She answered while clenching her left hand. She wasn't lying, she just couldn't do it. It just wasn't possible anymore.

Aizawa's eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean you can't use it?"

"It means that I haven't been able to use my quirk as liquid or as gas." She explained with slight meek.

He stared at for a few seconds as he paused, "How long?"

Mizuha looked away sheepishly, "... Five years."

It didn't take him too long to connect the dots. He slowly nodded and looked down as he now had a slight idea as to why she couldn't use her Quirk at its full potential. However, Mizuha wasn't expecting him to just nod and let her off the hook just like that. U.A High School is the school with best hero course, she couldn't continue using only one third of her power.

He straightened up in his chair, "I know that the incident with your brother has to do with your Quirk problem. The way you use your Quirk is like how you are right now, stuck and unable to move on. You can't keep doing this. It has been five years since the incident. It's time that you finally move on from it."

Mizuha grimaced, "How? How can I move on when I'm reminded of it every single day I wake up?" She asked lowly while staring at the floor, "For five years... Everyday I am reminded of that one mistake I made. I might as well have been the one to put my own brother and his fiancee in the hospital... in a coma that will last for who knows how long." She said before breathing out heavily.

Aizawa frowned and rubbed the back of his head, "Okay, look. As you know, the hero course is not a walk in the park and it requires its students to overcome many hardships. You are not going to be an exception. However, I'm not that heartless to tell you to forget everything and move on. I will give you until the end of the U.A Sports Festival to finally and properly move on. The proof of that will be when I see the full use of your Quirk if not... I'm afraid I'm going to have to expel you."

Mizuha's mouth slowly formed an 'o' before she nodded slowly. "Alright. I understand." She said stiffly before bowing down and thanking him. She really wasn't expecting him to pull out the expulsion card. She couldn't even tell if he was joking or not... well she was definitely certain of one thing, she was scared of getting expelled.

Aizawa nodded, "Alright, you can leave now."

Mizuha walked out of the teachers' office as stiff as a board. She quietly closed the door behind her and just stood there. _My first day of school and I'm already facing expulsion._ _This is terrible. I should have just kept my mouth shut... I should have just lied or something...! No, he would have found out either way! Noooo..._

The sound of footsteps approached her as she stared off into space. She was too shocked to even turn her head to see who it was. This person just started poking her shoulder as she blocked their way. It was probably a teacher then. Mizuha slowly turned her head to look at the teacher, only to come face to face with her uncle.

Eijin looked at her with a bewildered look, "What's up with you?"

"I might g-get e-expelled after th-the U-U.A Sports F-F-Festival." She stuttered while shaking.

 **-x-**

 **I've been dying to update this story... so many exams are just appearing out of nowhere T_T**


	6. Chapter 6: Second Day

On the ride to school, Mizuha couldn't help but simply gaze out the window while thinking about how she was supposed to 'fix' herself so that she can use her Quirk properly. Despite the music playing in her ears, she couldn't hear the lyrics since her thoughts were clouding her mind. She slowly glanced at the empty seat next to her, Byakuren was not with her today. Even if his normal routine was to arrive at school later than Mizuha, this time he actually woke up early for once but he did not go to school instead he went straight to the hospital where their siblings were put in. He wanted to tell his sister about how he got into the same school she graduated from and how he's made new friends there too.

Mizuha looked back towards the window and sighed, while Byakuren did his best to visit his sister whenever he wanted to Mizuha couldn't bring herself to do the same. She would only visit her brother once or twice a year. The thought of being in the same room as her brother only brought her shame... she rather not visit him at all. Either way she was ashamed of herself in both situations.

Once Mizuha arrived at her stop, she quickly got off of the bus and slowly walked on the path to her school. She still had no idea about how she could make herself move on. It's difficult to move on since someone would have to face uncomfortable situations, being in the same hospital room as her brother was probably one of them. If she didn't do anything to fix her problem... she would get expelled by Aizawa Shouta.

Mizuha cast her eyes down and frowned. _This wasn't how it was supposed to work out. I was supposed to just use my Quirk the way I could and become a hero. Why can't I just use the solid phase? It's not fair._

When Mizuha arrived in front of the school, she paused to look up at the building. Blue. The colour that the windows reflected from the sky. She looked back in front of her and slowly walked into the school.

 _I'm feeling kinda blue right now._

Despite it being her first day of school yesterday, she already had the way to her classroom engraved into her mind. She didn't even pay attention the numbers of the classroom but only what she remembered.. She let her feet guide her to her classroom as she stared at the view beyond the glass windows. Before she even knew it, she was already facing the door. She breathed in deeply and opened the door and then slipped into the the classroom without making too much noise. She saw that some of her classmates were already in the room but she paid no attention to them. She quietly closed the door behind her and walked to her desk.

She pulled back the desk chair and planted herself in her seat. Mizuha placed a hand in front of her mouth and yawned, she was starting to think it probably wasn't a good idea to over think her situation. She actually ended up sleeping at midnight which meant she only had five hours of sleep. Not that it would change anything, she was quite nocturnal (something her mother never approved of since she lacked the proper hours of sleep).

She shivered a little before leaning forward against her desk. Mizuha didn't even know what was her first class, all she knew is that she had math today. She was so glad that one of the classes before lunch was mathematics. At U.A High School, her uncle Eijin was the third years' math teacher however this year he was not only the third years' teacher but also Class 1-A's second teacher. There other one was Ectoplasm. She wasn't sure which was going to show up for their first math class.

... Her uncle was going to be teaching her class... Mizuha installed sat up straight and searched for her wallet in her bag. If what she thought was actually true then everyone would find out they were related. Not that she minded.

She pulled out her student I.D card and her eyes went straight for her name.

 _ **Kishōkei Hyōmei, Mizuha**_

Mizuha's right eye twitched. _Great, so no matter what, both mom and dad's last names are registered as my last name in my records?_ She sighed heavily. She put away her card and her wallet in her bag before she folded her arms and dropped her head on them.

When it was finally the period for math. Everyone was seated. Some people were wondering who their math teacher was going to be while the rest was groaning at the thought of doing math in the morning. So far, no one had spoken to Mizuha except for Byakuren. He passed by her desk to greet her and to give her the normal update on their siblings.

 _They're still sleeping._

He spent a few minutes with his butt planted on her desk as she lazily propped herself up by leaning her cheek into her palm. Not even two seconds after he sat down, Iida came rushing towards them and start saying how he shouldn't be sitting on the desks that their seniors had gracefully studied on. This made Byakuren smile in confusion and made Mizuha scowl in annoyance. In the end, she told Byakuren to beat it if he was only going to cause an uproar at her desk. Thankfully no one else came to see her since she just wanted to keep her head down for a little while since she was bored. She didn't want to kill time with her phone so she chose to just do nothing and pretend like she was sleeping. She thought Kirishima would also greet her but she figured he got held back when she heard Byakuren in the back of the class saying she was sleeping.

The bell went off and math class finally began. Mizuha, now fully awake, kept her eyes on the door as she waited for the teacher to enter the classroom. The door slid to the side and the educator was revealed. A man wearing sleeveless black open vest, a white shirt with beige patterns, black and white pants, black boots, black elbow pads and black gloves. He had spiky platinum coloured hair and dull onyx eyes. He was carrying a math book and he took long strides to the desk. Mizuha could hear audible mutters in the classroom as he walked inside in his own casual way. He dropped the book on top of the wooden desk and stared at all of the faces in front of him.

It was faint, but Mizuha heard it. Someone was fanboying somewhere behind her about who the teacher standing before them was. She wasn't sure if she had good hearing or either he was actually pretty loud about it.

"It's the Mirror Hero! Joker!" They squealed silently. Squeal? Okay, now she really had to see how it was—

 ** _SLAM!_**

Mizuha jumped in her seat and stared at the teacher with disbelief. _The hell was that for?_ Apparently, the man slammed his hand on the desk as a type of 'icebreaker'.

"Alright Class 1-A, I will be one of your math teachers for this year. My name is Kishokei Eijin. Pleasure to meet you all." He said before glazing over to the math book and opening it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too sensei!" A familiar voice boomed in the back.

Eijin glanced up with a what-the-heck expression. Mizuha covered her mouth by pretending she was brushing her nose with the back of her index finger. She was chuckling at the sight of her uncle's face. He shook his head and went back to searching for hispage.

"Alright, turn to page twenty-five of your math books. Bring out a notebook because you'll all be taking notes starting today. I'm sure most of you are more interested in doing hero work instead of doing things like studying math. However, don't forget you are still high school students that still need to study things like any other high school student. And as long as you are in my classes, you won't have time to think that you can take it easy. So-"

Mizuha rolled her eyes and pulled her attention away from her uncle and went straight for the books. The quicker she finishes the work the more time she'll have to do nothing when it was actually time to do the work.

She smirked at what the page presented her with. _Quadratic formula._ _Looks like I'll be taking it easy for this chapter._

As her uncle kept going on about math, she ignored him and went ahead to complete the work on page twenty-five. While she did her work, she began wondering about how her next class was going to be. For the next period before lunch, then would have English class. Mizuha was so sure that their teacher was going to be Hizashi Yamada.

* * *

Once the bell that indicated the start of lunch went off, Mizuha stretched in her seat like a cat. She leaned back in her seat and had both arms in the air before going limp against her desk. She scratched the itchy part of her head before reaching down to grab her bag. Mizuha was now back to thinking about how she was supposed to fix herself so she could use her Quirk properly. However, the more she thought about it there was only one answer that came to her.

Go see him.

She really wasn't fond of the idea but, she had to start somewhere and that 'somewhere' should be the hospital.

Mizuha grabbed her bag and went down to the bathroom to go and do her business. She preferred racing to the bathroom than taking her sweet time. It was for the sake of not waiting in a giant line. It was so irritating for her. She once remembered a girl who went into a stall only to come out three minutes later. Honestly, what the heck was that girl doing in there? Mizuha also found it disgusting how girls, the ones who bothered with make up, would go into the stall and when they came out, they would look at themselves in the mirror, they would fix their hair and touch their faces... and then leave... without washing their hands. Like.. what?

But she had to admit, seeing the girls stare at her legs while she washed her hands was pretty amusing. When she left the bathroom she took out her phone from her pocket and messaged Byakuren about his whereabouts. He replied to her by saying he was sitting at the same table from yesterday. She bit her lips and put her phone back in her pocket. Mizuha was betting her left eye that Kirishima was sitting there too.

She couldn't help but notice that Byakuren had clicked with Kirishima. Well not just him but some other of their classmates as well. Yesterday, whenever it was the recreation, Byakuren would take that chance to start talking with their classmates. That was because he was way more sociable than her. He didn't have a reason to socialize in middle school because of different views. Now, it was different. It was not just her, but many other students shared more things in common with him now. She had found herself feeling abandoned? Left behind? Something she did not understand why since she still knew that he spent time with her after school. In no way had he ever abandoned her. If she had to take a guess, then it had to be the fact that she was a little protective over someone she had known for years that caused this feeling inside of her.

When she entered the cafeteria she went straight for the table he was occupying. This time, it was only Kirishima sitting at the table with him. They appeared to be chatting about something until Byakuren noticed her approaching the table. He pointed his finger in her direction and then Kirishima turned around to see her.

Her red haired classmate waved at her, "Hyoumei!"

Mizuha held in the urge to frown and simply nodded her head to acknowledge him. When she arrived, she casually pulled out the chair next to the toothy male and sat next to him in front of Byakuren. She never sat next to Byakuren unless it was the only available seat, it was the same thing for him. As she started pulling out her container filled with waffle pieces, she glanced to see if the guy next to her was looking at what she was doing. She let out a small sigh in relief once he wasn't.

Byakuren swallowed his food and reached for his juice box, "Mizuha, help me with math." He _ordered_ before drinking from his box.

The only reply he got was the small pieces of plastic that her straw was wrapped in thrown at his face. He blinked in annoyance as she innocently poked a hole into her juice box.

Kirishima made a confused sound, "We literally just started learning a new chapter, how is it hard right now?"

The white haired student gave him a small eyed smile as the person in front of him glared daggers at him, "Mizuha happens to be a math wiz."

The red haired student's eyebrows rose up, "Really?"

Byakuren shrugged with a grin, "I don't know. She's good at math because she already learned the material until second year. She's actually been spending the past five years yawning in every math class and acing every exam."

Kirishima almost choked on his food, "Ehhh, that's kinda cheating isn't it?"

Byakuren laughed heartily, "That's what I said!"

Mizuha felt her ears turn red from the conversation. What on earth was Byakuren thinking revealing information about her just like that? She was trying to keep a low profile so other people wouldn't try befriending her. She wasn't comfortable with the attention he was directing at her.

Kirishima turned in his seat to face her just as she was about to put a piece of her waffle in her mouth. He placed his hands in front of him in a praying manner, "Hyoumei, if I ever have trouble in math, can I please come to you for help?" He begged with his eyes shut tightly.

The girl twitched in annoyance, this was exactly what she trying to avoid.

Mizuha scratched her cheek with her index finger, "Um..." She started. How was she supposed to answer? She didn't know how to answer negatively without being rude.

 _ **No, I don't want to.** Out of the question._

 _ **No.** Sounds too rude for someone I barely know..._

 _ **Hell no.** HELL NO._

"Um... we'll see?" She tried with an unsure look. She observed as his red eyes shot open and a grin widened on his face.

Kirishima was absolutely pleased with her answer since she didn't exactly shoot him down. Byakuren was enjoying the show in front of him. Mizuha was trying not to internally cry.

* * *

"Today's activity is this!" All Might pulled out a card that had the word BATTLE written on top. "Battle Training!"

After lunch, they had Foundational Hero Studies. It was the class that educates the students on how to act like a hero based on different situations. Apparently, All Might was the teacher for that class. He quickly informed them that their costumes (that they submitted) will be their equipment for Foundational Hero Studies. He pressed a button on a remote and the suitcases that kept every student's costume was revealed. All Might told Class 1-A to change into their costumes and to head to ground Beta.

Mizuha swiftly grabbed the box with her number and name on it. She then maneuvered her way out of the small crowd that was forming around her. As usual, she grabbed her padlock and speed walked towards the changing rooms. When she arrived, she placed the white suitcase on the floor. She breathed in deeply, _I hope they didn't screw up my freaking costume. My drawings were not bad, they were very detailed. If they screwed this up, I'm freezing the whole company._

When she opened her suitcase, she reached for the top parts of her costume and examined it. She had kinda designed it to look like her uncle, she couldn't help it since he looked pretty cool. It didn't look exactly the same though. Her costume mostly had the colours black, white and a bit of a blue and purple. She quickly put on her costume and went towards the mirrors to see how she looked like.

She was wearing a black jacket with 3/4 length sleeves that ended below her rear, she kept it unzipped with a silver zipper tag. She also asked for a sweater as another option just in case she needed it. Underneath, she wore a black and white shirt with a dark blue pattern. She was wearing dark blue pants and flat black and white buckled boots with red soles. On her right hand she wore a black fingerless glovelet and on her left she wore a black fingerless glove. They were both in form of combat gloves and they each had a metal plate on the back side.

 _It doesn't look bad. It's not too tight nor too loose._ She looked at the backside of her gloves and knocked her knuckles on top. _These perfect to smack someone in the face._ She thought with an evil grin as she pretended to hit someone with her fists.

Mizuha locked her locker with her combination padlock before jogging over to the doors. As she reached for it, the door opened from the other side. Mizuha's eyes widened and she quickly backed away from the door before she got hit in the face. The person on the other side gasped in surprise.

"AH! Hyoumei! Sorry!" Uraraka quickly apologized.

Mizuha shrugged and shook her head, "It's alright." She said before moving aside to let her and the rest of the girls enter the changing rooms. The girls then noticed she was actually dressed in her costume and began complimenting her. Mizuha had to brush them off by saying it wasn't a big deal. Luckily, the moment they all had their backs turned, she slipped out of the changing room and bolted to ground Beta. There was no way she was staying in the girls' changing room.

On the way there, she met up with Byakuren. At the sight of her, he started laughing excitedly, "WOW! Yo, we look so cool!" He said with a grin.

Byakuren's costume consisted of a black and dark purple vest with a long white coat that extended down at his knees (the inside of the coat was black). He wore a grey belt that kept his black pants in place. He wore black shin-high boots with red soles and black gloves that revealed the skin of his knuckles.

Mizuha huffed, "Oh please, you only look cool because I made those drawings for you!"

Byakuren pouted, "Well you were the one who insisted on drawing my costume..."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Yeah because watching you draw the same line ten times got me so irritated. You have zero art talent."

The white haired student shrugged, "Art isn't my forte." He agreed. "By the way, you are wearing so much black." He added.

Mizuha frowned, "I'd rather wear black than wear something that makes me a walking target. You're wearing white! You just scream," She put on a dumb expression and held her arms out stupidly, "Hit me!" She said in a funny voice before going back to her original state: straightened up with a bored expression.

Byakuren stared at her with an unamused expression, "Very funny."

Mizuha stuck her tongue out with a grin before walking off. Byakuren dragged himself to her side and walked with her. She let a small smile appear on her lips as she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"Hey, after school, I wanna buy gummy bears." She said with a small bounce in her step.

Byakuren looked at her with a disapproving look, "I don't think you should be eating too many sweets. Your mom doesn't like it."

Mizuha frowned. Now that she thought about it, she really shouldn't eat too many sweets. It's not like she really had a sweet tooth. Eating sweets just seemed like a type of pass time for her.

"Alright, then.. I'll buy an iced cappuccino!" She decided instead, she was sure she had enough money for that. Next to her, Byakuren perked up and walked in front of her with a grin. She narrowed her eyes at him as she already guessed what he wanted.

"I'm so tempted to say no..." Mizuha said slowly.

Byakuren held his hands together in a begging manner, "I'll pay you back!"

Mizuha's right eye twitched and she aimed a punch at him. Byakuren yelped and dodged it by backing away from her.

"You always say that! You owe me at least thirty-five dollars in total!" She screeched while trying to reach for his hair.

* * *

Kirishima let out a sound that expressed his amazement towards Byakuren's costume. The white haired student was going around flaunting his costume in front his friends. So far, Mizuha has heard them say how he looked cool and how _HE_ designed his costume _VERY WELL_. Every time she hard such a compliment like the latter, she would stare at Byakuren from behind the person complimenting him. She would give him a hard stare which he ignored and said he really did do a good job on his costume. Mizuha wanted to kick him.

When everyone arrived, All Might called them over to him so he could begin explaining the exercise of the day. They were going to be doing indoor villain situations. The cleverest villains hide in the shadows, meaning inside places. They would be split up into teams where they would fight each other two-on-two with the exception of one battle that will be three-on-three. One team would be the Villain Team and their job was to protect a nuclear weapon from the Hero Team until time runs out. The Hero Team had to either dispose of the weapon or capture the villains to win the battle.

All Might pulled out a box and told everyone to line up so they can pick their teams. Naturally, Mizuha followed Byakuren into the line. When it was finally his turn to pick his team, Mizuha was peeking behind his shoulder to see what he was going to pull out. The white haired student pulled out his hand from the box and pulled out a piece of paper with the letter 'I' written on top.

He spun around his heel with a grin and walked out of the line to find his teammates. Mizuha did the same, she let her fingers dance around inside the box and pulled out a slip. When she did, she walked out of the line and read her slip.

 _Team B... who are my teammates?_

Mizuha glanced around, there was already students paired with each other. She frowned, she quickly walked over to Byakuren and pulled on his arm.

He looked at her, "What?"

She held up her slip, "Team B."

He shrugged off her arm with a weird look, "I don't know. I'm Team I. Go ask around."

Mizuha clicked her tongue in annoyance, _Useless._

"Um," Ojiro said, "Hyoumei. I think Team B is over there." He said while pointing to her left. Mizuha's head turned in the direction of where he was pointing.

"You're with Shoji and Todoroki." He informed her. She already knew some of names of her classmates by the time they had Foundational Hero Studies.

 _... So dual-man and multi-man... Got it._

Mizuha thanked him and joined up with her teammates. When they noticed her, she merely held up her slip without a word. She decided to just stand next to Todoroki while waiting for the rest of her classmates to get into their own teams. No one in her team had spoken a word, and she didn't want to anyway.

Mezō Shōji. He was a tall giant that probably at least twenty centimeters taller than Mizuha. He had white hair that swooped down and covered the right side of his face. He was wearing a light blue mask that covered everything below his eyes. The only facial characteristic trait you could see was his left eye. If it wasn't obvious enough, he had six arms.

Shōto Todoroki, the student with the short dual coloured hair. His hair was evenly split where the red side was white and the left side was red. His eyes were also two different colours, grey for his right and turquoise for his left... a clear case of heterochromia. However the feature that Mizuha noticed the most was the large scar on the left side of his face. She was wondering how he could have possibly gotten a scar like that during his childhood. It definitely wasn't the type of scar you get after you trip and fall.

Once everyone was teamed up, All Might announced the first battle teams. Team A vs Team B, Uraraka and Midoriya were the Hero Team while Bakugo and Iida were the villains.

"The villain team goes in first!" Their teacher said before turning around, "The timer starts in five minutes when the hero team sneaks in! The rest of us will be watching from the monitor room!" He said before walking off to the said room, everyone except the four students followed their educator. As Mizuha glanced back towards the two teams, she noticed that Bakugo was glaring at Midoriya.

 _Geez, what did you do Midoriya? This guy always looks like he wants to tear you apart_

* * *

Mizuha ended up being impressed with the first battle. Despite Bakugo going around attacking Midoriya like a feral animal, he still knew how to fight. His instinct was his own strategy. As for Midoriya, she liked the way he persevered against Bakugo until the very end. He had left Uraraka with the task of fighting the weapon while he kept the dangerous opponent busy. He and Bakugo were aiming a punch at each other that was enhanced with their own Quirks. But instead off attacking his opponent, he aimed for the floor above them to allow Uraraka to reach the weapon. His last move got him severely injured since he blocked Bakugo with his free arm. In the end, Midoriya was sent to the nurse's office while the others were called back to discuss about their battle.

As Yaoyorozu explained the reason why Iida was the real MVP of the battle, Mizuha couldn't help but feel sour. It was obvious that the taller girl was smart and that didn't please her at all. She was so used to being the top student in her classes that the mere thought of being matched or even surpassed was something difficult for her to accept. She knew that she was attending a very good school most likely meant very good students would attend too.

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at Yaoyorozu, _She and Todoroki are part of the four recommended students... Damn it._

"Alright! Let's move on! For the next battle, Team I will be the villain team while Team B will be the hero team!"

The moment All Might said those words, Byakuren and Mizuha looked at each other. In that instant, Mizuha's face slowly hardened and she was glaring at the white haired student next to her. He merely stared at her with half-lidded eyes and a cunning smile. _There it was, a glimpse of that hidden personality._

Both teams went the Building B where the next battle was going to be held, after all they couldn't use the one that was practically destroyed from the inside. Like the first battle, Mizuha and her team had to wait five minutes before they could begin. During those five minutes was a complete silence between her and her teammates. She seriously thought they would discuss about what they should do... apparently not. Again, it's not like she going to initiate some type of communication.

All Might's voice rang, "Now! Let's start the second indoor person-to-person combat training match!"

Immediately, Shoji walked into the building and then stopped. Mizuha raised an eyebrow as she continued walking in with Todoroki behind her. The moment Shoji's limbs transformed into an ear, Mizuha's eyes widened in surprise and she nearly bolted behind Todoroki. She was absolutely glad she didn't, all her classmates including the teacher were watching her!

She and Todoroki stopped advancing and waited for Shoji to provide them with information. She watched as a few of the limbs turned into mouths. Freaking mouths.

"Two are in the hall on the north side of the fourth floor. The other is somewhere on the same floor... they're barefoot." It said.

Then as if the mouths had a mind if its own, one of them 'looked' at the other mouth and guessed that Hagakure was probably on her way to ambush them. Todoroki then began to move again, walking past both his teammates while telling them to go outside since it was going to be dangerous.

"I'm sure our opponents intend to fight a defensive battle..." The dual coloured haired student said while lifting up his right hand. Mizuha's eyes widened once she was frost swirl around his hand. Her classmate approached a wall to merely place his palm on the surface and then whole building was getting completely frozen, "... but that doesn't matter to me."

Mizuha stared in disbelief as ice was now the only thing that was beginning to surround her. Shoji quickly left the building as the ice continued its task. _That's... I can't manage that much ice... this much drains me..._

She was actually going to turn around and leave, but then she remembered something. He definitely wouldn't get caught by ice, not from the experience he's had and not with the Quirk he has. Mizuha sighed before venturing forth while walking past her classmate. She was no stranger to walking on ice.

"Hey, I said it was dangerous."

Mizuha stopped walked and looked back at him, "I'm not deaf. I don't think I can hurt myself when this," She pointed at all of the ice around them, "Is practically like my Quirk. Besides, you didn't immobilize everyone. Someone here knows how to deal with ice Quirks." She said before walking off.

Todoroki went along with her and they were practically walking side by side. He had frozen Hagakure in her tracks so there was no need to worry about getting ambushed. Ojiro was probably sharing the same fate as well.

"Can I suggest something?" Mizuha asked quietly.

Todoroki looked at her, "Pardon?"

She didn't bother repeating what she said, instead she continued but she spoke a little louder. "Let me go inside first. The other guy is most likely guarding the weapon by himself now. While you might probably be able to stop him too, I know him better and I might be quick enough to stop him."

He narrowed his eyes at her, "What makes you think I can't stop him quick enough?"

Mizuha gulped, "Um... He has this type of Quirk... It rips apart solid things, like debris, into smaller fragments. That means he'll be constantly destroying your ice." She said slowly while trying not to stutter, "Think of it as if it was a drill." She added.

Todoroki didn't say anything. He looked back in front of him. Mizuha hoped that he didn't think she was implying that he was weak. No, far from it. She was just stating what she knew from experience.

"There is so much time to spare. However, we shouldn't be taking advantage of the fact that this is merely a simulation of an indoor battle. Time is crucial." He finally said after a moment of silence.

Mizuha silently sighed in relief. He understood what she meant, that was a relief. They both walked up to the third floor effortlessly considering how the steps were icy.

"Alright, deal with him the way you see fit. I'll back you up if necessary." Todoroki said, agreeing with her plan.

Mizuha nodded, walking ahead of him, "We just need to recover the weapon."

It was killing two birds with one stone. If they manage to detain Byakuren and to recover the nuclear weapon, then they would have done both possibilities for winning the battle.

As they continued all the way to the fourth floor, Mizuha kept thinking about the possible moves Byakuren might have planned. He was the genius tactician out of the two of them, she would naturally pick up some of his ways of thinking too.

 _The floor is icy. He might might have adapted to walking on ice from our training. Then, he'll be running straight at me, or he might put him a wall... No it might damage the building and weapon, too dangerous. If not, then he's probably hovering over the ice with a small tornado beneath his feet to keep him afloat. If he's afloat, he's mostly likely to attack with his leg since he'll be at a higher level, throwing a punch might take him too long to get back into his stance... Which one..._

When they arrived near the door, Mizuha was the first to go in. Byakuren was literally waiting for her to enter the room. He was standing on the ice. Ojiro, fortunately, was unable to move from his spot.

As one of the moves she predicted, Byakuren zoomed in front of her and aimed his right leg to left side of her neck. Mizuha glared darkly at him and immediately raised her left arm to block his leg. She slammed the back side of her hand, with the metal plate, on his shin. She saw him visibly wince at the impact so she used that opportunity to tackle him to the floor after she pushed away his leg. For an instant, she struggled between using the tape that All Might provided them with and using her ice to freeze him on floor to completely lock him down.

The way Byakuren's Quirk worked was as long as air circulated around him, he would be able to create whirlwinds. If someone were to somehow cut off the air circulation around him, he wouldn't be able to create his whirlwinds.

Once he landed on his back, he groaned and tried to kick her off to send her flying away from him with his Quirk. She predicted his move and rolled over to the right side. Byakuren hastily gathered himself up to his feet but Mizuha didn't give him the chance to attack again. This time, she tackled him from the back to push him down onto the floor. Before landing, she prepared both her hands to freeze him to the floor. Upon landing, she began freezing him by placing her hands on his shoulders.

Byakuren released a whirlwind from both of his palms and directed them towards Mizuha. However, Mizuha released him and dodged by a strand of hair. She quickly got up and then slammed her foot down on his back. Her foot spread ice down onto his back and it traveled rapidly all over his body until he was completely encased. She did so in a way where she was sure no air surrounded his body. She breathed out and her breathe appeared white thanks to the chilly air.

She stood up straight and noticed she did everything right in front of Ojiro's feet, he looked shocked at how she easily dealt with his teammate. Todoroki walked towards the weapon at his own pace. Even as Todoroki walked towards the weapon, the student with the tail still held up his fists despite having his feet frozen.

"You can move if you want, but the skin on your feet will come off, so you won't be able to fight your best." He said and walked past Ojiro.

Mizuha removed her foot from Byakuren's back and backed away from him. The only reason she was able to counter his attack was because she was familiar with him. Plus, Todoroki's Quirk was able to reduce her chances of failing by stopping Byakuren's other teammates. It wouldn't matter if she was stronger than Byakuren. In a fight, she would lose due to the fact that his judgement, analysis, strategy and everything else related to battle was his key to victory. He was fairly good at hand-to-hand combat. This aspect only made him more difficult to beat. However, not everyone is invincible. Mizuha knew that he had his own weaknesses.

Todoroki placed his left hand on the weapon and All Might announced Team B as the winner.

"Sorry. We're in different leagues." he said after melting all of the ice around them including the one on Byakuren.

Heat. Annoying heat. Mizuha chilled herself with her own Quirk and followed Todoroki outside. She frowned and raised an eyebrow behind his back. _Heat? Ice? What kind of... wait heat? ... FIRE? Whaaat... fire and ice? Talk about a walking thermostat!_

"Did you see the look on Hyoumei's face?" Kaminari lightly jabbed Kirishima with his elbow as the projection showed the the back view of Todoroki and Mizuha leaving the building.

Kirishima looked at him with confusion, "See what?"

Kaminari was taken aback, "She looked like she wanted to crush Kyouran!" he glanced back at Bakugo and then back at Kirshima. He put a hand between them, "She looked like a mini Bakugo for a split second... minus the scary smile." He whispered.

As both teams returned, everyone noticed how Byakuren was limping his way back. Mizuha felt just a _little_ guilty about hurting him and she apologized once. All Might had to call in another pair of bots to deliver another injured student to Recovery Girl. Apparently, she hit his shin so hard that he really needed proper medical care. While she did feel a _little_ bad about hurting him, she couldn't help but feel proud. The gloves she asked for were definitely going to help her defend herself in the future. Mizuha then spent the rest of her time watching the remaining battles and was feeling a tad bit sleepy throughout the rest of class. The lack of sleep and lack of energy was getting to hear.

When everyone did their own battles, All Might praised them for their first battle training.

"Change out of those costumes and head back to the classroom!" All Might said before leaving them in a hurry... in such a hurry that he left a gust of wind behind. Everyone but Mizuha was amazed.

Mizuha squinted her eyes and walked forward, as much as she liked All Might she wasn't about to stay behind and talk about him like the others. She just wanted to sit down in the classroom and rest a little bit.

She yawned a couple of times on the way to the changing rooms.

* * *

Byakuren returned to class a few minutes after their next class began. Mizuha almost laughed out loud during the time he took when he went to go to his seat. First, he put on an _angelic_ apologetic smile on his face and bowed down. He apologized to the teacher for disrupting the lesson. After the teacher told him to get his seat, Byakuren did a close eyed smile and nodded. This made Mizuha chuckle into her palm. Second, when he walked to his seat there were a couple of whispers directed to him. They were asking him if he was fine. He answered him with _Thank you for worrying about me, but I'm fine! Please don't worry about me._ This made Mizuha jolt in her seat as she suppressed a surge of laughter. She knew he meant _Thank you for worrying about me, but can you all just stop gawking at me like as if I was a newborn fawn that didn't know how to walk?_

After school, everyone was chatting together. Mizuha glanced behind her shoulder and noticed that everyone was already talking to each other. Their first battle training gave them an excuse to socialize with each other. Todoroki was not one of them, by the time it was 3 o'clock he was already on his way to the door. He had already went home. Byakuren was one of them. She watched as he demonstrate that his leg was fine, he was stomping on the floor and tapping his shin.

She couldn't help but feel a twinge in heart at the sight. _There it is... that annoying feeling again._ The platinum haired girl looked back in front of her and sighed as She looked under her desk to pulled out her bag. She zipped it open and began putting her things inside.

"Bakugo! Where are you going?" Kirishima asked.

Mizuha looked up and searched for Kirishima and Bakugo. She spotted the ash blonde haired student and spiky red haired student. The latter was standing in front of Bakugo who was already set on leaving the classroom and heading home. The others tried to convince him on staying a little longer until Midoriya returned. However, he didn't listen and merely walked around Kirishima to reach the door. Without a word, he opened the door, walked out and closed it behind him.

 _... Bakugo Katsuki. He's the guy that ranked first too. From what I can tell... he seems to be a little depressed right now. So he's one of those guys with big egos, huh? But he's plenty strong... I'm sure he knows that... so why is he so bummed out about the results of his battle? Does he have something against Midoriya? I mean he always seems to irritate... more irritated around Midoriya. He often calls him 'Deku'. Wait that's not even his name is it? His name is Midoriya Izuku... so why call him Deku?_

After a while of thinking, she came to the conclusion that the two of them probably know each other. She nodded, satisfied with her hypothesis.

Mizuha pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was already 3:10. She slowly looked up from her phone and glanced back at Byakuren, he was still busy talking with his new friends. He probably wanted to wait for Midoriya to return from the nurse's office so that he could introduce himself. Mizuha was definitely not going to wait, she really needed to go somewhere.

She quickly stood up from her desk and pushed her chair back. She slung on her back pack and proceeded towards the door.

Byakuren, who had a perfect view of the class from his spot, noticed Mizuha leaving without saying a word as well. He quickly excused himself from his little group and went over to her.

"Mizuha!" He called.

Once she heard her name, she stopped in her tracks and looked at him with a confused face. "What?"

He pouted, "Where are you going?" He asked while leaning back against a desk with his hands in his pockets. "Can you wait a bit? We'll go home soon."

"... I'm going to..." She started but trailed off while looking at the floor. Mizuha lowered her head a little to the point where her eyes were curtained by her platinum bangs. Byakuren quirked up an eyebrow and leaned forward to try and see her face. He hummed for her to continue.

She glanced at him under her bangs, "I'm going to the hospital."

Byakuren's eyes widened and his mouth dropped a little, but then he slowly nodded and straightened himself. Mizuha lifted up her head to look at him properly, "I'm... gonna go see him, so... you can stay if you want."

The white haired student breathed in deeply before placing his hands on her shoulders, "Alright. This seems important for you right now, so I won't go with you. You'll need to do this thing alone."

She nodded.

"Just message me if something's up, alright?"

She nodded again.

Byakuren smirked, "And don't go home too late."

Mizuha rolled her eyes, "Gee, okay mom."

He laughed lightly before releasing her shoulders. She scowled at him and turned around to reach for the door.

"Aww! You guys are so cute together!" Ashido's voice squealed from afar.

Byakuren and Mizuha looked at the owner of the voice. She was skipping towards them excitedly, following her closely behind was Kirishima, Tsuyu, Mineta and Sero. Mizuha cursed inside of her head as they all approached them.

"Kyouran, Hyoumei I didn't know you were dating." Tsuyu said while putting a finger next to her mouth.

"How long have you guys been together?" Sero asked.

"... um they aren't really-" Kirishima tried saying but was cut off by Ashido, "Hyoumei you're so lucky! You got such a good looking boyfriend!"

Mizuha almost laughed at that one, _Good looking? All I see is an annoying spiky marshmallow!_

"Kyouran, what base are you at?!" Mineta nearly screamed.

Mizuha's right eye twitched, _BASE? I'LL SEND YOU FLYING YOU TWERP! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT HEAD OF YOURS?!_

Byakuren laughed and quickly told them to settle down. Mizuha groaned in annoyance before once again turning around to reach for the door.

However, she felt him wrap his arm around her mid section and she was pulled towards his side. She gaped at him as he did a close eyed smile, she looked down and saw his right arm around her right side. Oh how she wished she could burn it off.

He lifted up his left hand and held out his index finger, "The real question is: are we dating?"

Suddenly, she felt him move closer to her face until the sides of their cheeks were practically touching. She froze as she felt his other arm wrap around her neck loosely.

"How's this for an answer?" He asked with a mischievous tone.

Mizuha lost all patience with the guy locking her in a weird embrace. Before anyone could say anything, she immediately slammed her left arm into his stomach. Byakuren released her as he felt the air get knocked out of him, he stumbled backwards and supported himself with the edge of the teacher's desk.

Mizuha stared at him with an apathetic face, "How's _that_ for answer?" was all she said before leaving the classroom. She really didn't want to waste any time with his stupid antics.

When she closed the classroom door, she could Byakuren's words, "I was only kidding! Violent Ice Queen!" He wailed accompanied by some groaning.

She huffed in annoyance as she walked off.

 _Honestly, what kind of sick twisted pleasure does he get from creating unnecessary attention like that?! He's never done this before! He normally brushes off the dating questions with a quip or something like that! God what is this guy planning?! STUPID SPIKY MARSHMALLOW!_

 **-x-**

 **Note: Mizuha's hair is actually PLATINUM (the kind that's icy white) and not PLATINUM BLONDE (the kind that's light blonde, lighter than Bakugo's hair). My mistake, sorry. I didn't even realize I made this mistake.**


	7. Chapter 7: A Small Step Forward

***WARNING: BAKUGO'S POTTY MOUTH!***

The lady behind the desk looked surprised to see Mizuha standing in front of her.

Mizuha adjusted her bag on her shoulders, "I'm here to visit my brother, Hyoumei Shiran."

The woman opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The high school student frowned, "Can I?"

"O-Oh, no it's alright Hyoumei-san, go right ahead. I just wasn't expecting you this year." The lady said before standing up from her seat.

"Do you need someone to bring you to his room?" She asked, "Or do you remember where it is?" She added.

Mizuha shook her head, "No thanks, I know where to go."

The lady sat back down and permitted her to go ahead. Mizuha nodded and bowed respectfully. Without another word, she turned towards her left and walked to the intensive care ward.

She put on her headphones as she took her time walking. She wasn't in a rush to go see him, she was actually feeling uneasy as her regret was crawling up inside of her. Every step she took reminded her that she was getting closer, and as she got closer she was reminded of her mistake.

Mizuha finally made it to the intensive care ward. She was standing in the hallway that divided the psychiatric ward and the intensive card ward. She was facing the latter but she did not move.

She pressed the off button on her headphones with her right index and slid them down around her neck. Mizuha slowly walked towards the first room of the hallway. Her mind was completely blank when she faced the door. She reached for the door handle, and then quietly and slowly, she pulled the door to the side, only to be greeted by the sunlight passing through the windows in the room.

She squinted in annoyance and lowered her head. She entered the room while avoiding the sunlight's glare and moved to the side as she closed the door behind her.

With a better and clear view, she was met with the sight of two people resting in two different beds.

To her left, there was a woman sleeping. She had long hair in a colour that was strikingly familiar to Byakuren's. To her right, there was a man sleeping. From the all the time he spent here, his platinum blonde hair was quite messy.

Next to the woman's bed, on the small table, there was a vase filled with a couple of flowers. She could only guess that Byakuren had stopped by a flower shop for his older sister and that he left them there before heading to school.

Mizuha didn't understand why people would bother buying flowers for someone. She knew it was a nice thing to do, that much she knew but flowers tend to wither and die don't they? Not to mention that the nurse come and pick them up to throw them away after a certain period of time.

Mizuha swallowed. She turned to her right and walked to the sleeping man. There was already a chair placed next to it. As she approached the bed, she got a better view of her brother's face.

She gazed at him silently for a couple of seconds before deciding to sit on the chair. Mizuha took off her blue bag and nestled it between her feet.

Mizuha didn't know what to do. What was she supposed to do? She normally just sits down and stays there until she felt like leaving.

She pulled out her phone from her pocket and searched for Byakuren's name. She immediately started texting him about what she was supposed to do since she tend to always sit there and do nothing for minutes until leaving.

 _[Byakuren Kyouran]: Do what I do. Talk to him._

Mizuha stared at her glowing screen for three seconds. Talk to her brother? _He's in_ _a coma, he isn't going to reply!_

She opened up her internet browser and searched up _Talking to people in a coma._

 _When someone is in a coma, is it said that hearing is the only sense that connects them to the outside world. Hearing the voice of a loved one may or may not help them wake up from their deep sleep. Please note that this method may not work for everyone._

Mizuha frowned, _So... is this like a myth?_

Without raising her head, she glanced up and stared at the body laying on the bed. Her eyes stayed fixed on her brother's face as she slowly clicked the power button on her phone and lowered her hand. She honestly didn't feel like talking if it really was a type of myth. The platinum haired student took a deep breathe before letting it out shakily. She slowly placed her phone on the table next to the bed to reduced the chances of avoiding this 'conversation' she was about to start.

Mizuha observed him for a minute. His cuts were all healed up and he didn't look dirty (she could only guess that comatose patients still get bathed). Despite the two of them being siblings, their hair colour did not match... not like before. His was platinum blonde while hers was simply platinum.

She straightened up in her seat, "Hello brother... It's me... Mizuha. I don't really know if you can actually hear me... Um, I would ask you how you were doing... but you wouldn't be able to answer me anyway. And the answer _is_ pretty obvious." She joked lightly to make herself comfortable.

Her hands, that were clasped together, began moving against each other as she bumped her fingers against her hands.

"I... I'm fifteen now and I just started attending U.A High School. Yeah, I'm going to the same place you graduated from... I started school two days ago." She said slowly.

 _The two year old stared at her brother's face attentively as he opened his letter with shaky hands. Her mother was also sitting with them in the living room, waiting for him to open his letter._

 _He messily ripped it open and tilted the letter to the side. His eyebrows shoot up as a small device landed on his lap._

 _The small girl pointed at the device while trying to reach for it, "What's that?"_

 _Her brother pried her hands away very gently, "Wait, don't touch."_

 _He grabbed the device and set it down on the table in front of them. At that moment, a huge projection screen appeared._

 _Mizuha scooted herself closer to her brother at the unknown entity in her house. It was talking about some stuff concerning her brother, but she didn't understand much._

 _"Congratulations and welcome to U.A High School, Hyoumei Shiran."_

 _Suddenly, her brother jumped up from his seat and screamed out 'YES!'. Her mother laughed happily and reached for the envelop that had the official paper of admission._

 _Her brother turned around to face his little sister and then proceeded to practically tackle her on the couch to hug her tightly. Mizuha yelped as she felt Shiran squeeze her tightly._

 _"Mizuha! I got in U.A High School!"_

 _As the smaller girl struggled to push him off, the older boy rubbed his cheek against her soft one. How was smothering his little sister a way to show how happy and excited he was?_

"... I ranked first in the practical exam. I didn't think it was possible, but I did... Byakuren got into the same school too... We're still frien..." She stopped herself when she realized what was going to come out of her mouth. She quickly corrected herself, "... We still hang out together."

 _An eight year old Mizuha happily chatted among her friends along with some other people who were friends with hers. They walking towards a lunch table. Her friends laughed at her jokes and they laughed even harder with her gestures. After telling a few jokes, they arrived at the table and began pulling out their lunches. They were eating outside in the shade that their school provided. There was a gentle and pleasant breeze around them._

 _One of her friends pulled out a small keychain. The keychain had a small little puppy attached to it._

 _"Happy Birthday Mei!"_

 _Mei gasped in surprise as the keychain was dropped in her hands._

 _"Thank you Kiyoko!"_

 _Kiyoko smiled brightly, "How old are you now?"_

 _"I'm seven!"_

 _Mizuha huffed in amusement, "Don't worry, little one! I'm here to take care of you!" She joked._

 _Mei tilted her head to the side, "Huh?"_

 _One of her other friends piped up, "Mizuha is older than us!"_

 _Mei's eyebrows shot up, "Really?"_

 _Kiyoko laughed lightly, "She's eight. Her birthday was on November 21."_

 _The two people sitting in front of her perked up in their seat. Both of them were people she wasn't friends with... yet. The one on the right who had white spiky hair and he had a pocky stick in his mouth as he stared at her with wide eyes. The one on the left was shaking the guy beside him frantically._

 _"Kyouran! She has the same birthday as you!" He nearly shouted while shaking his shoulder._

 _Mizuha gaped as 'Kyouran' pulled out the pocky stick out of his mouth. A happy grin appeared on his lips._

 _A long friendship grew from this small discovery._

A small smile was stretched on Mizuha's lips as she remembered that moment. She had no idea that having the same birthday as someone would create a friendship that would last this long. Mizuha was so happy about having this kind of connection with someone that she couldn't stay away. The same could be said for Byakuren since he kept approaching her whenever he found her around the school.

Mizuha tried thinking about something else to talk about, but nothing came to mind. She spent at least two minutes thinking about what she could say.

"... Byakuren's been doing well at school. He's making a lot of friends. I wonder how it's so easy for him, it's such a mystery... uh... as for me... Oh. Do you remember Aizawa Shouta? Yeah well... he's my homeroom teacher and well, I might get expelled from the school at the end of the U.A Sports Festival because of him..."

Mizuha frowned. She didn't feel like talking about the details. Even if her brother could actually hear her, she didn't really feel like going into detail about the reason for her future expulsion.

"Uncle Eijin is one of my teachers... He's pretty strict about his math class being taken seriously... " She said before pausing. She was running out of things to talk about.

"I have a classmate who can also use ice as a Quirk..." She continued on about everything she had witnessed at school until she realized she hasn't said much about herself.

She talked about how All Might was one of her teachers, how a certain spiky red head was too friendly for her, how a certain green haired student had a double edged sword type of Quirk. But she never talked about herself.

"... I... Um."

She didn't know what to say. She simply remained quiet and in her seat as she slowly lowered her gaze. Mizuha placed her right hand on the white bed sheet in front of her and stared tracing circles with her index finger. In front of her hand was her brother's resting left hand. Both of their hands were very close, all Mizuha needed to do was to simply inch her hand closer to his and she could hold it.

Mizuha continued drawing little circles on the bed without pause. "... Big brother, please don't sleep forever... At least wake up for a second and tell me it was my fault. I need to hear you say something about it..."

As she stared at her index, she noticed that it was getting blurry. Her eyes were stinging just a bit. "I'm really sorry... I should have listened to you back then."

Mizuha kept her eyes fixed on her finger, that had stopped moving, and felt a tear fall out of her right eye. She made no move to wipe away the tears that were accumulating in her eyes. Instead, she removed her hand from the bed and slumped in her seat. Her eyes were now fixed on her bag in between her legs. She stared blankly at the colour blue as she remembered her mistake.

 _"Mizuha! You and Byakuren have to get away from here right now!"_

Why didn't she listen to him? Why was she so stubborn? She wanted to help those people... but that only created more problems. Her decision was wrong. Everything she did was wrong.

She wasn't sure how long she had stayed slumped like that but she sat up straight once she snapped out of it. Mizuha reached for the phone on the table and pressed the power button to check the time.

Fifteen minutes had already passed. When she realized that she had stayed longer than she expected, Mizuha got up from her seat and put on her backpack as she slipped her phone in her pocket. The tears in her eyes had already dried up. Mizuha easily pushed the seat back to where it was before with her right foot. She didn't spare her brother another look as she turned to walk towards the door. However, immediately after she took a step forward, she stopped.

"I came here today because I was told that I need to move on. My Quirk is not the way it used to be. Apparently, it's stuck like me. I came here understand how to move on... and now I realize how. I think... I am waiting for something. I'm not sure what though... Am I really waiting for something?"

Mizuha sighed before dragging her feet towards the door. She wasn't sure what exactly she was waiting for... but she wasn't going to just sit around and wait for it. She wasn't stupid. If she wanted to move forward, she had to stop talking and thinking negatively about the incident. She was attending U.A High School for goodness sake! _Who am I? Who do I want to be?_ Those questions are what she should be asking herself now. Sitting and waiting for whatever she needs isn't going to help her answer those questions.

The student left the room with several words in mind.

 _No, it's not my fault. The incident was inevitable, it's not my fault._

* * *

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at the sight before her.

In front of the U.A school entrance, there was a huge mob with cameras and mics. Every student that tried passing by them was followed by a certain lady wearing blue.

This was not what Mizuha wanted to deal with at the moment. This morning, she took her time eating her breakfast and was late for the bus she usually took to school. She was forced to endure a ride next to some chatty girl on the phone who wouldn't stop laughing out loud. Mizuha wanted to knock her teeth in for disrupting her peace. And now she was faced with a media obstacle. How freaking annoying.

Without a second thought, she quickly placed her headphones on her head and walked to her school's entrance. She skillfully made her way through the crowd without almost being noticed.

ALMOST.

"Oh! Excuse me!"

Mizuha's right eye twitched. She continued walking, _they see I have my headphones on... so it should be fine if I ignore them._

"Excuse me!" The voice was closer. Damn it.

Suddenly she felt someone grab her shoulder. Mizuha instantly slapped off the person's hand and turned around to face them. She glared at the lady dressed in blue, who was shocked at what Mizuha just did. The annoyed student slid her headphones off her head, "Who said you can touch me?"

The lady quickly bowed down and apologized, but she was quick to ask her question, "I'm sorry, but can you please tell me about-"

Mizuha rolled her eyes before turning around, "Don't know and don't care." She said before walking away. She made sure to quickly walk past the entrance just in case they tried pursuing her. If they did, then it would have been hilarious. They would have been blocked by the U.A Barrier.

Mizuha entered the school without a word. At least she could find someone REAL peace in the school. If was way too early to deal with this amount of annoyance.

When she closed the door behind her, she noticed a familiar student looking outside the window. He seemed to be staring at the crowd outside.

When he heard the door shut next to him, he curiously looked at her. Mizuha figured they were too absorbed watching the crowd too even notice her walking to the school.

"Oh, Hyoumei. Good morning." They said with a smile.

"Good morning, Kirishima." She nodded.

He looked back at window, "Oh, there goes another attempt to interview a student..."

Her body instantly moved towards the direction of her classroom. She wanted to head to the classroom without talking to Kirishima. But she was quick to stop herself when she remembered what she told herself yesterday. Mizuha bit her lip while furrowing her eyebrows.

She let out a inaudible sigh. She could feel herself shaking with nervousness.

Mizuha turned around and walked over to Kirishima. She stood next to him and stared at the media in front of the school through the glass window.

"Um, what's going on actually?" She asked out of curiosity since she actually didn't known what was up.

Kirishima put his hands in his pockets, "Apparently, they're curious about All Might teaching here."

Mizuha cocked her head to the side, _They didn't know or what?_

"What did you tell them?" Kirishima asked before turning to look at her.

Mizuha almost laughed.

She looked at him while rubbing the back of her neck, "Nothing." She half-lied.

Kirishima looked at her skeptically, "Nooo, you _did_ say something. I saw you talking to them."

Mizuha froze, _holy crap did he see my face?! First impressions are important! No.. wait he already has an impression about me... This won't change anything right?! Should I just tell him...?_

Mizuha shrugged, "I told them I didn't care. I don't care about the media thing I mean."

Kirishima's eyebrows shot up.

 _Shit._

He started chuckling, "Were they that annoying for you?"

She felt herself relax as he said those words. She was worried that he would have changed his opinion about her and she wouldn't be able to... for the lack of a better word, 'use' him. If she was going to _move forward_ she needed a type of support? But in no way was she planning on getting too friendly with him. After all, friendship was partly to blame for her mistake.

Kirishima picked up his bag that he set next to his feet, "Hey, let's walk to class together! You could use some company!" He said with a grin.

 _Company?_ _Does he think I'm lonely?_

Mizuha felt the corner of her mouth pull for a second, "Um... having no company doesn't bother me. I just choose to be alone."

Kirishima quickly shook his head, he moved his free hand in front of him in a flustered manner, "No, I didn't mean it like that!"

Mizuha watched him try to explain himself. Apparently it had nothing to do with her being alone. _So I'm the one who misunderstood?_

Kirishima sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "I just meant that we could just walk together to class."

Mizuha felt the corners of her mouth twitch upward, seeing Kirishima try to explain himself to a girl like her was quiet a sight to see.

She merely nodded and apologized for misunderstanding.

The walk to class was not as awkward as she thought. She was scared of not knowing what to say. She didn't want to say anything too friendly-like but she didn't want to not say anything either. Thankfully, Kirishima was the one who initiated their coversation.

Her connection with Byakuren. He was curious about how they were so close but of course he didn't want to force her to answer.

Mizuha did answer his question without revealing too much.

"We've known each other since we were eight years old. Our siblings are engaged to each other." She said while staring at the floor as they walked side by side.

Kirishima's eyes widened in surprise, "So... you guys are practically going to be brother and sister soon? Wow."

 _Soon? Huh? I don't know when 'soon' is exactly._

* * *

"Good work with yesterday's battle training. I saw the video and results." Aizawa praised before setting down the papers on the teacher's desk.

He turned to look at Bakugo, "Bakugo, you're talented, so don't act like a kid."

Mizuha slightly angled her head in a way where she could look at Bakugo. He glowered a bit before saying, "Got it."

She was slightly intrigued by Bakugo. He was very arrogant, violent and aggressive. The boy was a ticking time bomb just ready to explode... just like his Quirk yet he had proven himself to be one of the best students in class with yesterday's battle training. He had the capability to come up with quick strategist in the midst of combat. She really did think that he was the best at this point. In way, Mizuha did see a bit of herself in Bakugo.

Being distant was one of them.

She more or less had a foul mouth, however she was refraining from actually cussing in public.

Mizuha blinked in realization, _Distant... where does he go during lunch time?_

"I want to be class rep! Pick me!" Kirishima's voice suddenly boomed from the back.

Mizuha quickly snapped out of it and was wondering what was going on. She was too busy wondering about Bakugo that she didn't understand why everyone was yelling. She seemed to understand that they wanted to be chosen for something... probably a class representative...

She quickly decided to retire from keeping her brain active for this one thing and decided to disconnect from class. Everyone had settled down and she could hear Iida talking in the back. She could _hear_ him talking but she didn't pay attention to what he was saying. Mizuha was just staring the desk while drawing circles on the surface with her finger.

Not too long after, she was asked to write on a piece of paper who she was going to vote for. She didn't spend too much time on deciding who she wanted to vote for. She just wrote the name of the person who first came to mind.

 _Bakugo Katsuki_

However, she wasn't the least bit interested about who was going to be named their class rep.

* * *

Mizuha sipped on her juice box as she glanced around the cafeteria. She gulped her mango juice without even thinking about it.

Byakuren, who was sitting in front of her, quirked up an eyebrow as she kept looking around like an owl. The other table mate, Kirishima, was also wondering what was up with the platinum haired student. It was strange. When Byakuren and Kirishima arrived at the usual table after ordering their lunch, Mizuha was already done with hers. She was in the middle of putting away her container when they sat down. Immediately after, she was looking around as she drank her juice.

Byakuren cleared his throat, "Um, Mizuha... what are you doing?"

Mizuha removed her mouth from her streak, letting the straw release a sound, "Looking." She stated before resuming her task.

The white haired student looked at his fellow male classmate with a bewildered look. He had absolutely no idea what was going on with his friend. He looked at Kirshima while opening his hands in front of him. The red haired student, with his mouth on the side of his bowl, shrugged.

Mizuha didn't see the student she was looking for.

Now she was _really_ curious. Where exactly did Bakugo Katsuki eat lunch?

Her curiosity got the best of her. Mizuha removed her mouth from her straw and quickly handed the box to Byakuren, "It's yours."

It wasn't really weird for Mizuha to do this. During school days, she had the habit of not finishing her lunch (which sometimes includes not finishing her drink). So instead of throwing it away, Byakuren told her to give it to him. He loves juice.

"I'll be back," She said before getting up, "watch my bag!" She said while pointing at him as she walked away from their lunch table.

Byakuren lowered his bowl, "You're acting weird! Where are you going?!"

"None of your bussiness." She replied from afar.

Kirishima let out a small laugh as Byakuren gaped. The white haired student was still for a moment before he grabbed her juice box and drank the rest from it while narrowing his eyes at her distant figure. Now that Kirishima had a better explanation about their relationship, everything seemed funnier between them.

Byakuren crushed the juice box in his hand while shrugging with a playful frown, "Excuse me for caring!"

Mizuha walked out of the cafeteria and stood in front of the entrance. She was trying to recall where the vending machins were. She knew there was some in the cafeteria but she also knew there was some around the school _near_ the cafeteria. If she remembered correctly, her uncle told her there was exactly three vending machines on the same floor. She just wasn't sure if she should head the left or to the right.

She made her decision when she suddenly heard a metallic sound somewhere on her right. Mizuha let her feet drag her towards the sound.

She heard the sound again but a little louder this time. Not because she was getting closer. No, it seemed more like the sound got louder because the vending machine got hit with a little more force this time.

When she reached the corner, she heard the assaulted speak, "Fucking piece of shit."

Well. She definitely had an idea about who was just around that corner. She'd recognize that angry voice anywhere. She heard him pull out a drink from the vending machine while muttering another curse.

When she heard his footsteps approach her, that's when she asked herself: _What the hell am I doing here? Didn't curiosity kill the cat?_

Either way, it was too late to run and hide.

Bakugo turned around the corner, eyes fixed on opening his soda. He looked up from his task the moment he sensed someone in front of him. Bakugo laid his eyes on Mizuha's face and his eyes widened.

He immediately stopped himself before he could walk into her, "The fuck?!"

Mizuha was about to lower her gaze but instead she looked at something else, "... sorry."

"You're in my class... the one paired with that half-and-half bastard..." He muttered while scowling.

Mizuha rubbed the back of her neck, "Uh, yeah. I'm Mizuha Hyoumei."

Bakugo instantly glared at her, "You're the one who also ranked first during the entrance exams..."

 _Damn, wrong move._

Bakugo huffed and walked around her, "Get the fuck out of my way." He spat before resuming his task.

Mizuha clenched her fists, O _h hell no. I don't want him thinking I'm like another Midoriya... that's the last thing I want! I'm sure he thinks that I'm thinking that I'm superior to you based on how I got first place too... I don't want to be on his HATE list! I don't want that kind of attention!_

Mizuha quickly strode over to his side, "Okay, uh, listen Bakugo about that first place—"

The ash blond haired student clicked his tongue, "Leave me the fuck alone!"

 _Feed his ego! Let him know he's the best!_

"Did you even read the results? I only got first place because I got rescue points! You're the one who deserves that first place! You're strong, very strong. That's why you got 77!" She said very quickly.

Bakugo stopped walking. Mizuha made sure to not walk into him when he did. She quickly walked around him and stood in front of him. His face was expressing anger but she was kind of sure she had his attention. After all, he stopped walking?

"Don't think I'm stronger than you, because I'm not."

 _I'm really not strong._

Bakugo opened his mouth, "You—"

 ** _RIIIIIIIING!_**

Mizuha and Bakugo instantly looked up at the ceiling.

 ** _"There has been a Level 3 security breach. All students please evacuate outdoors promptly."_**

Mizuha quirked up an eyebrow, "Someone got through the barrier?" She muttered to herself and went to go look outside the large windows.

Bakugo turned around and was suddenly greeted by an enormous crowd of students filing up the hallway. Unfortunately, the crowd was even too quick for Bakugo to react. In less than two seconds, the hallway was filled with bustling students. Mizuha turned around to see what was happening. She was immediately greeted by a pair of red orbs. She yelped when her back collided with the glass behind her, it didn't help that Bakugo was also pressed against her.

The boy was yelling out profanities at the people who were pushing him.

Mizuha winced, "Bakugo! Can you get off me?!"

The boy whipped his head so fast to look at her, she thought his head was going to fall off, "That's what I'm trying to do dumbass!" He responded harshly before getting pressed against her even more. "STOP PUSHING YOU DAMN EXTRAS!" He finished with a yell.

Mizuha was wondering where his soda went because both of his hands were planted on the glass near her head.

She found her answer when she spotted a student covered in orange liquid.

"A villain broke in U.A?!"

"This the first time in years! This has never happened before!"

Upon hearing those words, Mizuha was suddenly filled with dread.

"We have to get out of here!"

"They're going to attack us?!"

"FUCK! STOP PUSHING YOU IDIOTS!" Bakugo roared.

 _Byakuren..._

Her heart thudded in her chest. She could hear the blood pounding in her ears. She could see Bakugo yelling in front of her but slowly her vision was getting blurry. She began breathing rapidly. Mizuha reached out with a shaky hand on the closest thing for support. Her hand tightly gripped Bakugo's arm as she struggled with catching her breathe.

Bakugo looked at her, "The hell?! Let... go..."

 _"Mizuha! Run! Go with Byakuren! Find help!"_

 _"Shiran! Where is Byakuren! I can't find him!"_

 _"Mizuha, calm down!"_

 _"I CAN'T FIND HIM! WHERE IS HE?!"_

 _"Mizuha—!_ "

 _"HE'LL DIE IF WE DON'T FIND HIM!"_

Mizuha looked up while still holding onto Bakugo's arm, "Byakuren... Byakuren... where... Byakuren... Byakuren... where is... Byakuren..."She kept on repeating his name like a mantra as she panicked about the possible outcome of this security breach. The immense fear of losing Byakuren was clouding her thoughts. It was like as if the incident was happening all over again.

Bakugo was looking outside as Iida told everyone that it was the media that got through the security. The ash blond haired student glared at the people outside. Not only did they irritate him this morning by bringing up the sludge villain... but now they're creating problems for the whole school. How annoying.

By now, everyone had calmed down. Some of the students were looking outside while others were going back inside the cafeteria. At least he wasn't being pushed around anymore. He lowered his arms down. Bakugo's right twitched in annoyance as he felt Mizuha grip onto him even tighter.

Now he had to deal with his girl that was holding onto him like a lifeline.

He didn't know what the hell just happened to her but it seemed like she was having some sort of panic attack. She wouldn't stop muttering Byakuren's name.

He quickly glanced around him to see if anyone was staring at them, when he felt like the coast was clear he instantly grabbed her shoulders. "Hey, idiot. If you just look behind you then you'll see that there's nothing to worry about. It was just those shit heads from this morning." He said before forcing her to turn around and to look at the media leaving the school grounds.

Mizuha watched as the media was getting dragged away from the school grounds. The situation was sinking in. There was no villain, no one was in danger. And most importantly, Byakurn was safe.

Bakugo waited patiently, much to his dismay, for Mizuha to slowly loosen her grip on him before completely slipping out of it. He was observing her for a few seconds. Unlike before, she was no longer breathing rapidly, her breathing was steady. Her colour returned, she didn't look pale anymore. She looked fine now.

The female student turned around to face her classmate. Her face burned with embarrassment when she realized that she was hanging onto him earlier. She slowly nodded her head and gave him a quick bow. It was her way of saying 'thank you' ...

 _Thanks for letting me use you like a cane._

The moment she stepped aside to walk to the cafeteria, he merely walked past her as if nothing happened between them. They both understood that they would never speak of this to anyone. One, Bakugo didn't want anyone to know he 'helped' someone. And two, Mizuha didn't want anyone to find out she had a panic attack (because she was pretty sure she did!).

Both of them wouldn't want rumors spreading if their classmates found out that two distant students of their class were ' _doing_ ' something together. Especially if one of them was Bakugo Katsuki, one of the best students in their class.

Shitty attention like that was the worst.

Mizuha mechanically made her way back to her lunch table. She found Kirishima and Byakuren standing around their table, they probably just came back from the huge ordeal in the hallway. When she was standing behind her seat, Byakuren hastily walked over to her.

"You okay? Where were you?" He asked.

Mizuha blinked slowly before rubbing her arm with a hand, "Bathroom."

* * *

 ***bows down* I apologize for the lack of update. I'm in the middle of finishing my finals! (I'm finally a high school graduate! Yay!) Obviously, I'll be updating more often when my finals are done! (Which is in a week or so...)**

 **I'm pretty sure that the press isn't allowed to touch people when they want to ask questions...**

 **Well! Mizuha is finally getting some interaction with some of her classmates.**

 **About Bakugo... I know that he doesn't like associating with his classmates in any way possible but I don't think he's _that heartless_ to just ignore someone who's having a panic attack...**


	8. Chapter 8: Uninvited Guests

Mizuha kept her head down as everyone cheered for Iida. Apparently, Midoriya suggested that the Engine Quirk user should be the class representative instead. The blue haired student was more than glad to accept the position. Their homeroom teacher was just in the corner huddled inside of his yellow sleeping bag during the whole thing. Midoriya walked back to his seat as Iida took his place in the front. Once that everything was official, Iida the class president and Yaoyorozu the vice president took their seats. Aizawa got out of his sleeping back and start talking about what was next on the agenda.

Aizawa stood behind the teacher's desk, "Now for today's basic hero training..."

Mizuha immediately shot her head up with a frown.

"This time, All Might, myself and one more person will supervise." He said. Mizuha deflated when he announced that he would also be there. She was actually hoping to have less classes that involved their homeroom teacher checking out their Quirks and how they used them. It was just another painful reminder that she had to show him that she could use her Quirk properly.

Aizawa announced that the class will be participating in a rescue exercise for their Basic Hero Training class. Everyone began chattering about the type of lesson they would be going through. Their teacher also added that they didn't have to wear their hero costumes if it should somehow limit their abilities.

"The training site is a bit remote, so we're taking a bus. That is all. Start getting ready." He said before exiting the classroom. Mizuha was quick to get up and grab her suitcase. Now that she knew that Aizawa was going to be watching her too, she was concerned about her performance for today's lesson. She needed to prove that she was still capable with only her solid form.

 _It should count for something... right?_

Mizuha didn't meet any of the girls on the way out of the changing room. Near the intersection where the path to the boys and girls' changing rooms meet, she spotted Bakugo walking towards one of the exits that brought you near the U.A bus stop. At least she didn't have to look for the bus stop, her guide was right there. Mizuha followed him but made sure to keep her distance when she did. She caused him enough trouble for the day.

She was far enough to the point where she arrived at the door when it closed. As she opened it, she saw through the glass that no one except for Bakugo had arrived outside. Well, except for their teacher who just entered the bus. She pushed the door open and, as a habit, she held out the door behind her just in case someone was behind her. It was a habit. She didn't know someone was actually behind her until she felt someone's hand touch hers for a brief second. Mizuha instantly pulled her hand away from the door and stepped away from whoever was behind her.

It was her dual coloured haired classmate.

"Sorry." He apologized after seeing her react the way she did.

Mizuha didn't even say anything, she merely turned around and walked away. She clicked her tongue and scolded herself for acting stupid. For some reason, she was acting very strange today. First she gets a panic attack over the media breaching through the school's barrier and now she's jumpy. She really needed to calm the freak down.

She marched straight over to the bus. When she glanced behind her shoulder, she saw that no one else had arrived yet and that the two boys were not looking at her. She grinned to herself, _I'm going in first then._

Mizuha casually got inside of the bus and she immediately spotted her teacher sitting on one the seats in the front. He looking down at the clipboard in his hands that most likely had the attendance list among the papers clipped on it.

When he noticed her he lowered the clipboard, "That was fast."

Mizuha nodded and sat down on one of the few side-by-side seats in the front. The man with dry eye watched his student sit down the middle of the two seats and then proceeded to prop her feet up on the edge of the seat away from the window. She easily made herself comfortable by laying down on the two seats and keeping her gaze the bus' ceiling. The black haired teacher looked up from his student and looked at his others students outside the bus. Most of Class 1-A's students were already present outside. They were all talking together as they waited for the rest to come out. Meanwhile, the one inside of the bus, had no interest in doing the same.

Aizawa sighed and looked back at his clipboard, "Hyoumei, don't put your dirty boots on the bus seat."

Mizuha wordlessly sat up and proceeded to remove her boots. She placed them neatly underneath her _seats_ before laying back down. She figured her teacher gave up on trying to stop her from doing what she wanted since she didn't hear anything else from him. She leaned up a bit and reached for her hood that was flattened underneath her shoulders. She threw on her head and leaned back down. She just wanted to rest for a little while before they arrived. Mizuha didn't want anyone other than Byakuren speaking to her at this point.

When she hear Iida acting all like the good class president he is, she pulled her hood a little higher and then adjusted it so it could cover her eyes. In complete darkness, she heard her classmates enter the bus. The first few who passed by did not notice her presence until Iida called her out. Apparently, she was disrespecting the seats their dear old seniors sat on and the people who worked hard to make them. Mizuha pretended to sleep during his whole outburst. She heard Byakuren laugh and tell Iida to leave her alone (he succeeded with much difficulty).

During the whole ride, Mizuha was listening to the conversation in the back. Everyone was getting to know each other even better, however a certain topic was making her feel a little uneasy. They were talking about Quirks... specifically... _flashy_ Quirks. What got her really concerned is that it was Kirishima the one pointing out WHO in their class had a flashy Quirk. He said that Bakugo and Todoroki were the ones who had flashy Quirks in their class.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Not just them, Hyoumei too!" Kirishima added.

Mizuha nearly screamed out loud. She was getting exposed. Which is something she didn't want... AT ALL!

Kaminari gave him a confused look, "Are you sure? It didn't seem like much when we did the battle training exercise. I mean she had a nice Ice Quirk..."

The friendly red head shook his head with a grin, "I was with Hyoumei during the entrance exams. She was capable of blocking one of those huge fourth faux villain. She made like a huge ice rampart to keep them away!"

"Seriously?!" Midoriya exclaimed flabbergasted.

 _Kirishima I know you're a nice guy... but I think you just destroyed what I tried to tell Bakugo earlier. Now he's REALLY going to get the impression that I think I'm better than him! Oh may a black hole just appear out of no where and bring me away from this place._

She was hoping that Bakugo thought Kirishima was just an idiot talking nonsense.

She suddenly heard her teacher get up from his seat. Mizuha took that as her cue to also get up. As she reached for her boots and started putting them back on, she noticed that they were approaching a large dome-shaped building.

"We're here. Stop messing around." Aizawa said as the bus got closer to the bus stop.

The Pro-Hero Thirteen was there to greet them. Everyone followed the Space Hero inside the facility called Unforseen Simulation Joint... or just USJ. Mizuha was impressed by what she saw. It was clear that the school really did want to prepare their students for any kind of situation. The dome-shaped facility was composed of eight main sections, with six of them emulating a particular environmental factor. She could only guess that those six sections were where there training would take place. She was even more impressed when Thirteen said that _they_ made the whole facility.

Mizuha was slowly and slightly nodding her head. It would make sense. Thirteen was a rescue-type hero.

Thirteen tells the students about the dangers of Quirks and why they need to be regulated, as well as how the students will now be training to use their Quirks to save people. They even gave an example by using their own Quirk as one. Black Hole was indeed a good Quirk however it also has the potential to kill someone if it they were to use it wrong.

"You do not have powers so you can harm others. I hope you leave here with understanding that you have powers in order to help others." They said before bowing down, "That is all. Thank you for listening." They finished.

Mizuha let a small grin appear on her lips as she clapped for Thirteen with her classmates. It was good to know that they had different heroes for different types of hero jobs to help them with their lessons. She was actually curious to know how their were going to rescue people while being careful to not hurt people with their Quirks. She walked over to her homeroom teacher since she knew he was about to lead them towards their first type of rescue exercise.

"All right then, first—"

Suddenly, the lights in the facility began flickering until they all dimmed out. Mizuha cocked her head to the side when she noticed that the lights were off. It wasn't dark thanks to the light outside coming through the windows.

The platinum haired student squinted her eyes when she saw the water fountain in the center plaza. There was something appearing there but she couldn't tell what it was. However, she was certain that it was growing. Mizuha stepped a little closer to the edge to the stairs only to be pulled back by her homeroom teacher. He kept a firm grip on her arm as he looked at the water fountain as well. She noticed how he seemed on high alert now. When she looked back at the fountain, she saw a face. A man's face who had a white hand clamped onto his visage.

"What the heck...?!" Mizuha took a step back.

Aizawa immediately pushed her back when he saw the intruder from afar, "Gather together and don't move!" he ordered.

Byakuren quickly jogged over to Mizuha from behind. He clasped her shoulders as she stared down by standing on her tip toes, "Mizuha, what's going on?" He asked as he pulled her back towards the group.

Their homeroom teacher looked back at the disturbance in the facility, "Thirteen, protect the students!"

Mizuha shook her head, "I don't know... but something is down there... there's a guy..." She muttered while pointing down.

Kirishima looked at what she was pointing and he was also taken back at what he saw. The purple thing that was growing was now a huge and almost like a screen. The individual with the hands on his face stepped out of it along with some other figures. He merely stood in the middle as they walked passed him.

"Is this like the entrance exam where the lesson's already started?" Kirishima asked with a hand above his eyes.

Mizuha shrugged off Byakuren's hands off her shoulders, "No, it's not." She stated firmly.

"Don't move!" Aizawa instructed before putting on the yellow goggles he usual hid underneath his scarf. The class looked at Mr. Aizawa, surprised by the emotion in his usually monotone voice.

Mizuha felt a chill run down her spine as he did so. If their teacher, Eraser Head, was putting on his goggles that he usual put on during combat... then it was probably safe to assume that something really wasn't going as planned. Something was _really_ amiss.

"Those are villains!" Class 1-A gasped fearfully, some of them were taking a half-step back as they realized that they were in danger. Mizuha's eyes widened at the sight of the mass appearing in USJ. She could feel her right foot slightly inching backwards... like as if she wanted to run away.

The school had sensors just in case tresspaers would dare to step foot on its grounds, but they weren't working.

"Did they only appear here, or around the whole school?" Todoroki said, calmly observing the scene below. "Either way if the alarm sensors aren't working... it has to be one of their Quirks that's doing it. This place is far from the campus and they picked a time when there would be a few people..."

Mizuha's eyes widened, _This place is far from the campus and they picked a time when there would be a few people..._

Todoroki continued, "So maybe they're not as dumb as they seem. This surprise attack was carefully planned with some sort of goal in mind."

"Wait... how did they _know_ we would be here?!" She asked harshly, narrowing her eyes threateningly at the group of villains advancing towards them. "If this is so well coordinated... then they must have gotten information. The schedule was leaked somehow!"

Todoroki glanced at her, "... that might be a possiblity."

"Thirteen, start the evacuation. Try calling the school." Their homeroom said. "These villains even had something to counteract the sensors. It's possible someone with radio-wave-type powers is interfering Kaminari, try using your quirk to call the school."

Without wasting a second, Kaminari did as he was told. Eraser Head turned away from the class and stepped forward. Midoriya was quick to ask him how he was going to fight all those villains by himself considering how his fighting style was mostly a one-on-one type.

"You can't be a hero with just one trick." Mr. Aizawa replied without looking back. "I'll leave it to you Thirteen." Then, Shouta leaped down the steps with his hands clasped on parts of his capture scarf.

Mizuha moved a little towards the edge of the stairs in order to get a better look. Thirteen prevented her from going any further. She watched as the first group set their sights on her teacher, but he used his Quirk to cancel each of theirs out and then proceeded knock them out using his capture weapon. The platinum haired student stared at him with awe. She was only able to witness a few of his captures before she was dragged away by Byakuren. There was one thought that went through her mind as she got pulled away.

 _His movements are as nimble as ever... Mr. Aizawa is amazing..._

As Thirteen and the others ran for the exit the black vortex that had appeared below suddenly manifested before them, cutting off their escape route. They all skidded to a stop once it shot up. Mizuha narrowed her eyes and examined the villain in front of them. It looked like this villain's body was the manifestation of its Quirk. No skin, just black and purple mist. Mizuha looked behind to see if Shouta was coming to help, but there was no sign of him. She cursed in her mind when she figured that they were keeping him busy.

"— to end the life of All Might, the Symbol of Peace." was all she caught before she looked back in front of her.

The black mist observed all of the student before it, "I believe All Might should have been here. Has there been some kind of change?"

Kirishima, who was standing by her left, readied himself, "I think you were right, Mizuha... They knew we would be here."

"Well... no matter. My role remains unchanged." He said before spreading the mist wider.

Suddenly, Mizuha felt the two people she was standing in between leap forward. Her hair flew a little as she saw Bakugo and Kirishima charging at the mist villain. The blast from Bakugo's gauntlets created a screen of smoke as the attack landed. However, the attack seemed to have no effect on the vortex. Sensing the danger, Thirteen was quick to tell them to get away from the villain.

"My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!" They stated before releasing a large amount of mist around them.

Mizuha squinted her eyes when the mist circled around her and her classmates. She glanced upwards and noticed how it was beginning to envelop them. She made a move to try and run from the mist and get out of it, until she remembered something. Just a few feet away from her, were two of her classmates. Those two classmates were standing right in front of the villain.

 _Danger..._

Her body moved on its own, "Kirishima! Bakugo!" She cried out before leaping forward and grabbing onto them.

Byakuren gasped in shock, he tried running after her while calling her name. He tried reaching for her until he started getting warped away.

The moment she held onto both their arms, she was suddenly pulled forward along with them into complete darkness. They weren't in the dark for too long since a light started appearing before them. The light turned out to be an opening that lead to somewhere else and they were getting close to it fast.

When they reached the end, they were tossed out and they all landed on a roof. By then, Mizuha had released them both. Bakugo landed on his feet, Kirishima fell on his front and Mizuha rolled forward when she touched the floor with her hands.

"HAH? Where the hell did that warp gate bring us?!" Bakugo shouted as he stood up before realizing that they were surrounded by another pack of villains.

Kirishima carefully looked at his surroundings before noticing the central plaza in front of them.

"Kurogiri brought them right to us!" said one of the many villains around them.

"Lambs to the slaughter!"

Suddenly, Bakugo bore a deadly look on his face, "HUH? Who the hell do you think you're talking to?! DIE!" He shouted before zooming in on the first villains in his line of sight. Kirishima and Mizuha watched in awe as he went on his own little rampage.

All of the rest of the villains began charging towards the two idle students. Wasting no time, Kirishima hardened his arms and defended himself against the incoming attacks. A villain swung a dagger towards Mizuha. The girl side stepped and reached for the villains arm. She easily took hold of his wrist and pulled him towards her as she raised her knee up against his chin. She caught the dagger before it fell and backed away from an incoming villain back her.

She used her training and easily got the villain. She kicked their knees from behind and made them kneel down while she held the blade at their throat. She made sure all the villains coming at her could clearly see what she was doing.

Why did it seem like this was too easy?

"Touch me and he dies." She warned with a menacing glare. Mizuha was successful in catching their attention since they stopped moving altogether. She wasn't really one for negotiations but this was easier for her. From what she noticed, they were the only ones left considering how Bakugo and Kirishima dealt with their problems swiftly. This was merely a tactic to stall them.

Before any words could be exchanged, Bakugo literally blew them up with his Quirk. Mizuha blinked nonchalantly at his quick thinking and stared down at the villain she was holding captive. She sighed and threw him forward onto the ground as she stood up straight. The villain rolled over on its back to look at her, only to earn a violent kick in their face thanks to her boot.

She tossed the dagger away from her and then started brushing out her clothes.

Kirishima, the one who was the furthest away from them, quickly jogged up to them, "You guys okay?!"

"Yes." Mizuha nodded.

"Of course." Bakugo huffed like as if it was the most stupidest question to ask him.

The red head was quick to whirl around and point at the other simulation zones, "Just a few seconds ago, I saw some of our classmates get sent to different zones. They came out of the warp gate like us."

Mizuha heard something climbing up the building.

Bakugo clicked his tongue, "Who the fuck are these villains? They're so freaking weak."

Immediately, Mizuha turned around and grabbed something near the edge of the roof. It looked like she was reaching for air to Bakugo and Kirishima.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Bakugo asked staring at her oddly.

"Hyoumei?" Kirishima called out.

She lifted whatever she was holding onto and flipped it over her. A loud thud was heard. Instantly, after making contact with the ground, a person was revealed.

Mizuha huffed and let herself drop down onto her knees, she made sure one of them landed on the man's stomach. Successfully knocking the wind out of him. She encased everything beneath his neck in her own ice and glared down at them.

" _How_ did you know about our schedule plan? _WHO_ told you?!" She demanded while holding up a hand in front of his face. Her hand had ice swirling around it.

Kirishima gaped at the scene before him. He always saw Mizuha as the calm, slightly lazy and slightly mysterious classmate who he in no doubt respected. Every morning she would have her head planted on her arms until class would start. She would be resting as if she didn't sleep enough at night. Her face would always look neutral, yet here she was bearing the most scariest face he had ever seen her wear so far.

"I'm not telling you anything, kid!" They said while trying desperately hard to wiggle free.

Mizuha stared at him for a little while before nodding. She hummed before stepping away from the villain. She wasn't going to waste her time interrogating a villain when they had more important and urgent things to deal with.

The platinum haired girl stared at the ash blond haired student, "Bakugo, go ahead." She said while motioning at the villain with her chin.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO FUCKING DO!" He shouted before landing one of his explosions on the immobilized villain while destroying her ice in the process. Not that she minded, she knew that villain wasn't going anywhere if he wasn't conscious.

Kirishima sweat dropped, _I think Kaminari was right... she had a scary look on her face just now._

They all came to the conclusion that there were more villains in their zone judging from the mass that stepped foot in USJ. They must have split up on orders. They were probably ordered to wait for their warp gate to drop off students that they would no doubt attack upon arrival.

Mizuha pointed out to them that there were probably more villains in the zone they were in. They were probably just waiting for them to show up.

Bakugo huffed in annoyance before making a beeline to the door that would led them back inside. Kirishima and Mizuha just watched him enter the building. Not even one second later, you could hear Bakugo's explosions going off everywhere. He even made blew up the door when he slammed a villain into it.

Kirishima laughed nervously, "Let's go?"

Mizuha looked at him and then slightly nodded. She stayed rooted in her spot as she watched him run off to join Bakugo.

Mizuha looked at both of her hands. She could remember how she had a firm grip on their arms when she tried pulling them back from the mist villain. She remembered faintly what she felt at that moment. Mizuha had felt a sudden dread when she saw Kirishima and Bakugo in front of that villain. They were in a dangerous situation with real villains. A real villain was standing before them. She feared for her safety... and theirs. She clenched her fists tightly before lowering them to her sides. Mizuha couldn't afford to make the same mistake.

She then ran after both of her classmates.

She knew she was slowly repeating the mistake she made in the past. Her actions were undeniable proof of it. She put herself in danger while _trying_ to help someone. But... she really wanted to believe she wasn't doing it again.

 _I reached for them because that's what heroes do, right?_

 _We help people._

 _That's gotta be it..._

 _Right?_


	9. Chapter 9: Crumbling Equilibrium

Byakuren furiously wiped the water off of his face with his hand. Not that it mattered. His hood was doing little to block the rain from his face. The spiky white haired student found himself in the Squall Zone. It was pouring heavily in his area, but thankfully he was at an advantage. The simulation zone was an urban area with heavy rain and strong winds. The strong winds were definitely a boon to his abilities.

Byakuren quickly ran towards an empty alley way and hid there.

He wasn't sure if he was the only one of his classmates that was warped to this particular zone. The moment he set foot on the wet ground, he instantly found himself surrounded by a bunch of villains who just waiting for him. He wasted no time in releasing a powerful tornado to push them away from him. Now that he thought about it, that move was probably not the best option. He acted rashly, he could admit that.

He was certain that he attracted the attention of the remaining villains in the area based on the loud sounds he was hearing. Every few seconds he would hear a sound that was similar to something that was slammed against the building walls.

He carefully moved to the edge of the wall and listened for the sound. He heard it, and it was closer this time.

Byakuren gritted his teeth and leaped out of the alley way with tornadoes shaping around his fists. He immediately stopped his attack when he recognized the faces in front of him. It was his two classmates. The one with the bird shaped head and the one whose head was similar to a rock.

He widened his eyes.

"Kyouran—" Tokoyami was cut off.

"DUCK!" Byakuren yelled before swinging his hands upwards. His two classmates were quick to heed his warning and they dodged the incoming tornado by dropping down on the floor. Both of them had their eyes wide open in shock as they felt his Quirk pass above their heads.

The villains, that were running up behind them, were swept away by Byakuren's growing tornado.

Byakuren narrowed his eyes and closed his fists in front of him in a rapid manner. The tornado disappeared and the villains were thrown ruthlessly inside the buildings... effectively knocking them out.

Tokoyami tilted his head back to look at the outcome. A couple of debris was falling down from the height but it wasn't anything too serious. He looked at Byakuren and saw him drop his hands on his knees.

"That's already two big tornadoes... I think I overdid with that last one." Byakuren said while panting. That was his draw back. If Byakuren goes over to maximum size that he's capable of to create his tornadoes... his air gets cut off around him. His stamina decreases because off the small cutback of oxygen supplying his lungs. To create tornadoes he needs to use the air circulating around him. Therefore. it takes a little time for him to take in oxygen normally.

"Kyouran, there's no need to push yourself." Tokoyami advised when he saw the state he was in before standing up with Koda.

Byakuren panted and looked up to give him a confused look, "What? But there's like a bunch of them... I gotta be careful."

Tokoyami nodded, "Of course, but there's no need to go overboard." He turned around to look up at the spot where the villains got shoved into. "These villains are not that strong."

Koda nodded in agreement.

Byakuren stood up straight and regained his normal oxygen intake. He listened as his classmate explained to him how it was rather easy to beat them if they made sure not to get caught in their attacks. They just needed to work together to get rid of them. He allowed Tokoyami to figure out a way how to do it.

Byakuren was not in the state of mind to think up some strategies. He was honestly a little shaken up about the current situation and he was worried about Mizuha. He had no idea what was going on through her head when she went closer to the mist villain. She was already dressed in black. It was absolutely terrifying for him to see her fade into the darkness that was out of his reach. But from what he remembered, she ran towards Bakugo and Kirishima. He was hoping that she ended up with Bakugo. There was no doubt in his mind that his 'explosive' classmate was very strong. If she were to stick with him, then she'd have a higher chance of defeating her villains.

... Why did she run to them?

He wasn't sure why she did it.

And he was sure she didn't know either.

Five years ago, she swore to herself that she wouldn't make anymore friends. She didn't want to be responsible for anymore of her bad decisions. It was too scary for her. She didn't want to repeat her mistake.

But yet... could it be that she's starting to care for people again?

If that was the case, Byakuren knew he couldn't sit still. He had to make the most of it before she went back inside her shell.

 _I'll bring you back. I swear._

* * *

Mizuha ran to catch up with Kirishima. They were both following their noisy classmate who was already attacking the first villains he laid his eyes on. They both joined him and took out the bad guys around them.

"DIE!" Bakugo screamed when he blew away five villains.

Kirishima ducked and slammed his hardened fist under a guy's chin. At the same time, another one was coming from behind. A villain yelled as they swung down their sword behind him. The red head was quick to react and simply broke the blade in half with his hand. He then slammed his free hand down on them to knock them out.

Mizuha decided to stay in the hallway to prevent any other villains from joining their allies. She was clearing out the area left and right while almost and probably going over her limit.

 _They've been coming in like cockroaches, disgusting._

She spotted another group swarming towards her from the other end of the hallway.

 _If I can just shoot some ice towards them and slam them against the end of the corridor..._

She narrowed her onyx eyes and stood her ground. Mizuha saw a bunch of them charging towards her as she remained still. Immediately she forced some ice, that started from her feet, to shoot forward.

The villains were all stuck together at the end of the hall way with her ice encasing everything beneath their chin. She let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding back. Unlike the boys she was with, she made sure to keep her distance when it came to knocking them out with her Quirk. She wasn't going to risk getting hit by one of them. These were real deal after all! What if someone had a blade coated in poison? That would be the worst case scenario right there if someone were to get cut.

This situation required them to use their Quirks the best way they can to protect themselves.

 _"In the hero course, you're going to have to use your Quirk completely and not just part of it. Do you understand?"_

Her teacher's words suddenly came back to her. Even if his words were meant for her training at school, she began linking his words with this moment of crisis where their Quirks were their defense against these villains. Her Quirk was a Hydrokinesis type, aka Aquakinesis. Her Quirk was called Water Phase (it was called 'Cyrokinesis' until Aizawa changed it). She was able to alter the temperature of the water. This allowed her to change the water into its three different forms: gas, liquid and solid.

Mizuha was beginning to think that perhaps it was time that she learn to use her Quirk properly again. If she needed to be a hero...

 _"You can't be a hero with just one trick." Mr. Aizawa replied without looking back._

She can't just rely on her ice forever. Surely there will be a time where she was going to have to do something else. Her teacher was right. Heroes need to have at least more than one trick up their sleeves.

 _"The way you use your Quirk is like how you are right now, stuck and unable to move on."_

Mizuha clicked her tongue and turned around to walk back to where Kirishima and Bakugo were. She could hear Bakugo's yelling and explosives echoing in the corridor. As odd as it may seem, those sounds were actually reassuring for Mizuha. Having a strong and aggressive classmate sure did help. If he was already somewhat violent with his classmates... then it would be safe to assume that his violent side would be even worse towards a real enemy.

 _Still... if I'm 'stuck and unable to move on' ... how am I supposed to 'flow and move past everything'? I don't think I can do this on my own... I need help... I need guidance._

When she returned to her classmates, she was just in time to witness Kirishima defeating the last villain in the room. She came face to face with him as the villain dropped down in front of her. The red head looked ready to attack whoever just appeared in front of him until he saw her face.

"Hyoumei! Are you alright?" He asked when he reverted his hand back to normal.

Mizuha nodded her head and walked into the room, "Yeah. I defeated the rest of them."

 _The ones on this floor at least, who knows many are downstairs just waiting for us._

"All right. Let's hurry up and go save the others! If we're here, then everyone else should be inside USJ, too." Kirishima turned around to face both Bakugo and Mizuha. He then clenched his fist, "I'm worried about the guys who don't have ways to attack!"

Mizuha titled her eyes up as she tried recalling some of her classmates' Quirks. One face did appear in her mind... which made her cringe in disgust. The short kid who was so determined to know at what 'base' she and Byakuren were at. Mineta. She was wondering what kind of Quirk this shrimp was hiding in that small body of his.

Kirishima's words pulled her away from her thoughts, "Besides, because we ran off ahead, we slowed Thirteen down. None of this would of happened if we'd let Thirteen suck up that fog."

Then he suddenly looked at Mizuha, "Plus Hyoumei also got warped away when she tried to pull us back because we acted rashly!"

Mizuha's eyes widened a little bit. She was honestly a little touched at how he felt guilty.

Normally, she would have said a sarcastic remark despite the situation they were in. But she stopped herself when she remembered that they weren't Byakuren. She couldn't act normally.

He then looked at Bakugo, "As men, we have to take responsibility for what we did!"

The ash blond haired student looked away with a huff, "If that's what you want, then go on alone. I'm gonna kill that warp gate."

Even Mizuha had to react to that, "Hah?" She let out with a look of disbelief.

Kirishima was supporting the same look on his face, "What? You're gonna act childish at a time like this? Besides, normal attacks don't work on him..."

Bakugo gritted his teeth in annoyance, "Shut up!" He turned and yelled in the red head's face. "That gate bastard is the enemy's way in and out. I'm gonna cut off their gateway route for when the time comes. And it's not like I don't have a way to beat him!"

Mizuha suddenly saw a knife emerged from behind Bakugo and it was heading straight at him.

"Bakugo!" She warned as she stomped on the floor to emit ice.

She didn't have to do anything.

Her classmate was already faster than her because he merely stretched out an open palm and grabbed onto whatever was directing the knife behind him. He slammed it down on the floor with his Quirk.

Mizuha froze, like her Quirk, and merely watched as whatever what Bakugo was holding was revealed. It was villain with a mutant type Quirk.

"A chameleon...?" She mumbled while staring at the villain.

Bakugo stared at them as he held up its head for his classmates to see, "If all they're sending us is these idiots... we should be fine."

Mizuha made a small 'o' and nodded her head, "Yeah... he's right."

Kirishima looked astonished, "Anyway, were you always this calm and rational? I thought you were more like..." He trailed off. Mizuha already had a good idea of what he was talking about. They were both picturing the usual Bakugo who screamed 'DIE'.

Bakugo instantly snapped and returned to his usual character, "I'm always calm and rational, you spiky-haired punk!"

"Ah! There it is!"

Mizuha rolled her eyes, c _ontradiction right there._

Bakugo scoffed and merely tossed aside the villain like a ragdoll, "Then go if you want to!"

Kirishima was quick to tell him to wait, "Believing in our friends! That's real manly, Bakugo! I'll follow you!"

Bakugo didn't say anything as he stared at Kirishima. Then, his red hues were directed at Mizuha as if he was waiting for her answer.

"I'll go—" Mizuha instantly stopped herself before she gave her decision. She wanted to say that she wanted to go and look for Byakuren since he might help turn the tide of the situation with his tactical mind. But she hesitated when she remembered what Bakugo said.

 _"If that's what you want, then go on alone. I'm gonna kill that warp gate."_

 _Earlier, that warp gate-like villain was able to bring in all these villains. One of them looks more dangerous than the others. I could feel it. The man with light blue hair that had a hand attached to his face. When I looked at him, I felt a sort of chill like as if something was not right with that one. If my hunch if correct and **he is** dangerous... then what if that warp gate guy brings him in front of Bakugo and Kirishima once they get to him?_

Mizuha narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth in frustration.

Kirishima looked concerned, "Um... Hyoumei?"

Bakugo titled up an eyebrow.

 _But... what if Byakuren needs help and I decided to not go find him after all? What if he gets hurt? These are real villains... we shouldn't underestimate them... what if..._

Bakugo kept his eyes fixed on Mizuha. She looked like she was having an internal struggle with herself by the way her face looked conflicted. He was immediately reminded of what happened to her during the false alarm during lunch break. He remembered the way she looked so lost. He could remember the feeling of her hand gripping his arm.

Most importantly, he remembered how she repeated one name during her little scene. Byakuren.

She was worrying about him again. A panic attack was the last thing this situation needed.

He clicked his tongue, "HEY! IDIOT!" He boomed.

Mizuha jumped in surprise and looked at him with widened eyes.

"Calm the hell down before _it_ happens again! Like I said, _they_ should have no problem with these guys." He pointed at the villain on the floor that was next to her.

Mizuha slowly looked down at where he pointed, "If your boyfriend can't handle trash like this, then he must be _really weak!_ "

Bakugo huffed in annoyance. He turned around and walked out of the room without even waiting for either of his classmates. Kirishima, who was surprised, couldn't understand what was going on but when he glanced at Mizuha, she looked a little calmer. Her face looked a little more relaxed compared to a few seconds ago. The red head cautiously took a few steps towards her. He understood from the word boyfriend that she was probably worrying over her soon-to-be brother-in-law.

... _but he's not weak... Byakuren... he's strong... and he's a good tactician..._

Kirishima slowly placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hyoumei?"

She was quick to respond by turning her head at him. Indeed, she looked more collected than earlier.

He smiled reassuringly before releasing her shoulder, "I'm sure Kyouran will be fine. I could tell he's strong. Have faith, alright?"

Mizuha felt her mouth tug to the side for a second.

 _"My name Kirishima Eijiro. What's your name?"_

 _She hesitated, "Mizuha. Hyoumei Mizuha."_

 _..._

 _He gave her a toothy grin, "Thanks Hyoumei! You know, you're pretty cool!"_

 _..._

 _Kirishima picked up his bag that he set next to his feet, "Hey, let's walk to class together! You could use some company!" He said with a grin._

Mizuha breathed out before nodding, "Right. Sorry... yeah, I'll come with you guys."

Kirishima grinned and patted her shoulder before running off to catch up with Bakugo. Mizuha didn't waste a second to follow after the two boys. You could hear Bakugo yelling once more along with his Quirk firing off around the corner.

She couldn't believe what she was doing. Now she understood why she jumped after Bakugo and Kirishima when the mist villain surrounded her class. Now she understood why. The answer was so simple yet so difficult to accept.

She swore to herself she wouldn't make friends to prevent situations such as earlier.

 _Kirishima is a nice guy. I could tell he has a kind heart. Bakugo may not be the easiest person to deal with but he is also a good person, it's just very difficult to see it. These two don't deserve to get hurt by any kind of villain. I don't want them to get hurt._

This was exactly the kind of thing that caused her regret in the first place.

Mizuha clenched her fists tightly while running, "You can't think straight and that costs everything." She muttered to herself.

The platinum haired student assisted in the fight against the remaining villains with Bakugo and Kirishima.

 _Last time. This is the last time. I won't... I won't make the same mistake._


	10. Chapter 10: Aftermath

After clearing out the Collapse Zone of all the villains, Bakugo followed by Mizuha and Kirishima were on high alert as they left their zone. They were all fortunate enough to come out of there with no injuries. They quickly scanned the area in search of the purple and black warp gate. It wasn't until their eyes landed on the scene at the Central Plaza. Somehow, while they were fighting, All Might was able to arrive at the scene to tilt the situation in their favor. However, it wasn't looking too good.

The Symbol of Peace was trapped in the hands on what looked like a monster. The body of whatever was holding him went through the ground and its upper body came up from underneath their teacher while keeping a firm grip on his sides. As they registered the scene that was happening at the Central Plaza, Bakugo was quick to notice what was allowing the monster to appear in such a way. The mist villain was the one making it possible.

Mizuha felt the unease from earlier when she noticed the strange man just watching All Might struggling.

"I found you, warp gate!" The ash blond student ran towards the scene.

"Ah! HEY! Bakugo!" Kirishima yelled before running after him.

Mizuha didn't miss a beat and hastily ran after both boys. _Is that their ring leader? What the hell is he doing just standing there?!_

While running after them, she noticed two more people running to the same location. Midoriya was trying to reach All Might with desperation and Todoroki was coming from the Landslide Zone at full speed.

Bakugo was getting closer with each step he took.

 _They didn't notice us? They're either dumb or just too distracted!_ _I should immobilize that monster with my ice, that should help All Might get out of its grip._

Midoriya stretched out a hand as he jumped forward, only for the warp gate to appear in front of him with every intention to send him somewhere else. When Bakugo leaped forward, Mizuha sighed in relief knowing that he would be there to reach the warp gate before anything happened.

Bakugo blased the mist villain with one of his explosions, "MOVE! YOU'RE IN THE WAY, DEKU!"

He grabbed the floating plates of metal and slammed it on the ground.

Mizuha skidded to a stop next to Todoroki who was already doing what she had in mind. With his right foot planted on the floor and a few inches away from his left, his ice was reaching the monster's right leg and up its torso. It continued through the warp gate and he froze the creature's right side. Todoroki made sure to not freeze All Might in the process by stopping at the monster's wrist.

All Might quickly jumped out of the creature's hold and landed a few away. It was hard to see it from her view but Mizuha noticed how he placed his left hand near the left side of his abdomen. She looked carefully by walking a little forward and noticed how he had bloodstains on his shirt. That's not good. The platinum haired teenager looked back in front of her. Mizuha's mouth slightly fell open out of shock and slight fear when she saw Kirishima try to attack the 'handy-man'.

The man simply jumped away from the red head with ease.

Kirishima backed away, "Crap! Almost had 'im!"

 _Don't get near that guy!_

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at the monster still half trapped inside the warp gate. She didn't know what it was but if it was capable of making All Might struggle... and bleed? Then it was obviously a dangerous thing. It was alarming for Mizuha. If that man standing before them really was the villains' ring leader... then he would indefinitely be commanding this monster too...

She quickly readied herself just in case when she saw him turn his body towards the inhuman creature.

"Nomu." He said.

Without wasting a second, the Nomu's upper body sank deeper into the warp gate. Mizuha's eyes widened when she saw how it was forcing it self out of the warp gate with its legs. It shattered its right arm in the process.

Midoriya gasped next to her, "His body is falling apart but it's still moving..."

Mizuha gritted her teeth in frustration when she realized it was indeed still trying to move. She got down on one knee and slammed her right palm on the floor before swiping it upwards rapidly, "Lose the other one while you're at it!"

Ice shot from the ground like a sharp blade at the base of her palm and zoomed towards the point where its left arm connected to its body. Her ice effectively sliced the arm off and everyone watched as the arm fell limply next to the monster. The Nomu had no reaction whatsoever to the loss of its limb.

All Might looked at his students, "Young Hyoumei, enough! Get back, everyone!"

The Nomu began regenerating. The limbs it had lost were being reconstructed starting with the muscle tissues and it finished with its skin covering up everything. That just sealed the deal for Mizuha. She couldn't consider that human even if she tried.

All Might stood up straight as he witnessed its regeneration, "His Quirk wasn't shock absorption?"

The unknown man shrugged, "I didn't say that was all he had. This is his super-regeneration. Nomu has been modified to take you at a hundred percent. He's a super-efficient living sandbag designed to withstand everything you've got."

The Nomu was standing before them like as if nothing happened to it.

Mizuha stood back up and took one step back. _Not its only Quirk? Modified? Designed to take on All Might? Is there really someone out there capable of creating more monsters like this?! This isn't good._ "First, we need to get our warp gate back."

Mizuha gasped and quickly turned to look at Bakugo. The moment she looked in his direction, the Nomu was already too close for anyone to intercept its attack. Instant dread flowed throughout her entire body once it attacked him. The impact shook the entire dome. It so strong that it pushed away Mizuha, Kirishima, Todoroki and Midoriya at least four meters away from their original spot. Mizuha clenched her teeth as she forced herself to remain standing while she was pushed away. However, as she took a small step back once the effect of the shockwave died down, she nearly tripped over someone's foot.

She quickly caught herself and moved aside from whoever it was. When she looked back, she she saw Bakugo looking so shocked.

Mizuha let out a confused sound as she stared at Bakugo and then at whatever took the hit just now.

Midoriya looked at Bakugo sitting behind him, "Kacchan?! You dodged that?! Wow..."

The ash blond haired student didn't even look at him, "No, shut up, scum."

Kirishima stood up and stared at Bakugo with disbelief, "Then how...?"

Todoroki realized how had taken the hit, "Then that was..."

Mizuha gestured at the person that was revealed behind the smoke of the rubble, "All Might."

It was obvious to them that All Might had taken the hit when he pushed away Bakugo. The Nomu was able to successfully retrieve the warp gate from them and it stood still waiting for its next orders. Then the light blue haired man went on about he was angry at the world for categorizing the same violent acts as heroic and villainous which _they_ decide what's good and what's bad.

Mizuha glared at the man giving out his little monologue, "What the fuck..." She whispered to herself. _Same violent acts? Heroic acts are not the same as what those monsters do! Monster kill, steal and destroy what is precious to us... they shatter our happiness and rip away everything we built! They are not the same as acts that protect us from suffering from the what villains do!_

Mizuha growled and clenched her fists tightly. _He's dangerous and psychotic!_

"It's three against six." Todoroki stated.

Midoriya nodded, "Kacchan already exposed the fog's weakness!"

Kirishima hardened his arms, "These guys are crazy, but if we back up All Might, we can push them back!"

"No! Get out of here!" All Might instructed as he walked forward.

Despite Todoroki and Midoriya trying to tell him that they should indeed try to back up him, their teacher refused their help and asked that they stand back and watch a Pro Hero fulfill his duty with everything he's got.

Suddenly the man with the hands on his face bolted in the students' direction. Mizuha took a step back and and held her hands up in a fighting stance. Her hands had ice swirling around them.

Kirishima readied himself, "Hey, we've really gotta do this after all!"

Immediately, All Might rushed towards the Nomu that did the same thing. Their teacher collided his fist against the monster's which created a similar but stronger shockwave like before. The students were pushed even further away just like the man who was running at them mere seconds ago.

Midoriya was forced to lower himself closer to the ground to keep himself from flying back, "A head-on fist fight?"

Mizuha watched in amazement as All Might engaged in a fierce fist fight with the Nomu, blow for blow. Every hit that was landed on the Nomu created shockwaves that was preventing any one from getting closer to them. The warp gate couldn't even float up there if it wanted to unless he literally wanted to get blown away. All Might landed lightning speed blows and literally sent him flying into the ground when they were in the air. Everyone stumbled to catch their balance once the Nomu's body collided into the floor where it landed and broke it in the process.

All Might was obviously declared the winner with the final blow. He had punched the Nomu in its abdomen and sent it flying out of USJ.

"I really have gotten weaker... In my prime, five hits would have been enough. But it took more than three hundred hits." All Might said as he stood proudly with a fisted hand on his chest where his heart was.

Now that the ring leader had All Might's full attention, he seemed to be a little shaken up. He even took a step back out of panic.

"As expected, it looks like there is no need for us to fight." Todoroki said, he also could have probably meant that we weren't even ready for this type of level yet.

The red haired student looked at Midoriya who kept his eyes on All Might, "Midoriya! We should get out of here now! It'll be worse if we end up getting taken hostage instead!"

Midoriya did not respond to Kirishima's words. He was keeping his eyes on All Might and he had a worried look on his face. Mizuha narrowed her eyes at him when he was clearly not listening to anything his classmates were saying.

 _This kid... Midoriya. He rushed in to try and save All Might before didn't he? That's why he was in front of that warp gate! This kid... he might just get taken hostage or get attacked by that handy-man if he tries to save All Might once again..._

 _Personal feelings?_

Mizuha heard some of the villains, that were previously knocked out, stand up behind her. She turned her head to slightly glance behind her shoulder. Most of the villains that Aizawa had taken out in the beginning were the ones getting back up.

"What the hell..." She muttered when she noticed that more of them started getting back up on their feet.

As much as she wanted to help Kirishima and the others deal with the weaker villains, she felt like if she looked away from Midoriya completely... he would jump in try and help All Might. But why? Their teacher was doing just fine. If anything, Midoriya would only mess things up if he were to get caught in their hands!

Without warning, the ring leader ran towards All Might. At that moment, she felt her green haired classmate in front of her jump forward with the help of his Quirk. She barely even saw him jump for goodness sake!

Mizuha reached forward,"Hey—!" She lost her footing. Her weight on her foot was awkwardly put and she stumbled forward but didn't fall.

Kirishima's eyes widened, "Midoriya!"

Mizuha groaned in frustration. _Damn it, of all the times! Why does this kid wanna help him so badly?!_

He tried to intercept them in time but the warp gate made the ring leader's hand warp near Midoriya's face. Mizuha had no idea what kind of Quirk he had but... it was in front of Midoriya's face. He was about to touch him! Even if she ran there to stop that guy's hand, she wouldn't be able to make it.

Suddenly, a powerful sound was heard in the facility which served as a reverb for the sound. It was a gunshot. The moment the bullet was fired, it had already made contact with whatever the assailant aimed at. The hand that hand poking out of a warp gate had a bullet shot into it, successfully intercepting whatever the man planned on doing to him. Mizuha heard two two more gunshots fire off.

"Gun fire? From where?" Mizuha mumbled as she looked at her surroundings.

It was revealed to be one of the teachers from their school. In fact, the Principal had rounded up the ones who were available to help. Mizuha sighed in relief when she saw that help had indeed arrived.

"I, Tenya Iida, class 1-A representative, have now returned!" He yelled out loud for all of his nearby classmates to hear.

Mizuha sweat dropped and chuckled a little bit. She could without the 'reporting for duty!' voice. _I suppose it's a good thing that Iida was selected as class rep. He certainly is capable._

The only villains that escaped were the ring leader and the warp gate. Although Snipe and Thirteen attempted to stop them, they slipped away but not without injury. Many of their lackeys were left behind since the Pro Heroes got to them first.

Mizuha, Todoroki and Bakugo were watching from afar as their Pro Hero teachers split up to help the students that were still dealing with villains in their Simulation Zone. Kirishima bolted to go and help Midoriya that was still on the floor.

Todoroki placed a hand behind his neck as he looked around, "If this many Pro Heroes have gathered here, then it looks like they did not attack the whole school."

Mizuha stared at her right foot with annoyance. She was certain that she sprained her foot when she _tried_ stopping Midoriya. It wasn't anything serious but she had a slight limp. Honestly, if she should get her ankle sprained then it should be from some battle and not because of awkward footing. How stupid.

"Mizuha!" A familiar voice yelled.

Todoroki and Bakugo looked at the owner of the voice who was running straight at them. Mizuha frowned when she realized who it was. It was her relative who had the same coloured hair as her.

"Kishokei-sensei." Todorki nodded, he found it odd that he was addressing his classmate by her first name.

Her uncle stopped in front of the three students and was quick to ask them if they were okay. Bakugo and Todoroki answered right away that they were fine but Mizuha lagged for a few seconds behind before giving him the same answer.

"Are you sure?" Eijin asked.

Mizuha's right eye twitched in annoyance. She didn't like having her uncle worry over her. Ever since the incident five years ago, he's been somewhat a little protect over the last Hyoumei sibling. This was something she understood completely, but she didn't like how it stressed him so much. She could only imagine how he must have reacted to the urgent situation about her class. His niece was being attacked by villains who infiltrated U.A High School.

She didn't like lying to her uncle either.

She sighed and pointed at her right foot, "I just sprained my ankle a bit. And no, it's not because I was fighting. My footing was off. That's it."

He visibly relaxed, "Can you walk?"

Mizuha shoved her hands in her pockets and shrugged, "If I'm still standing now, then I'm sure I can walk."

That was not the answer he wanted to hear.

The moment Mizuha tried walking past her uncle, he grabbed her arm from behind to stop her. She whipped her head back in annoyance and tried to tug her arm free from his hold. His iron grip made her efforts fruitless.

"Gah! Let go of me old man!" Mizuha tried even harder.

She wanted didn't want to call him 'uncle'. If possible, she'd like to keep her relationship with her uncle-teacher a secret. Not that she's embarrassed but simply because she didn't want anyone to know.

Eijin looked at his dual-haired student while tightening his grip on her, "Todoroki, would you mind helping Mizuha in case she falls? I can't trust her."

His student only nodded to his request.

Mizuha growled before cocking her held arm back and tugging out of his grip more forcefully. She did so in a way where she would slightly bump into him and then escape as he stumbled a bit. Her uncle merely released her from his ward and then ran off in the direction of the Squall Zone to provide assistance.

After her uncle had left, Mizuha had remained silent and avoided looking at Todoroki and Bakugo. She just realized that she showed a part of how she usually acts, she started getting frustrated with herself. She told herself she would try and be a little more sociable. Kirishima was a start but surely there were other people who she could try with too right? It didn't matter if that other person cursed her out with every other sentence (Bakugo) and it didn't matter if she didn't know how to communicate with a silent individual (Todoroki). As long as she could communicate with them like a human and simply _talk_ to them... that was more than enough for her.

"Heey!" Kirishima shouted from behind them.

The three of them looked at the running red head, "He said to gather in front of the gate!"

Mizuha spun around her heel and proceeded to walk back to the gate. Todoroki actually caught up to her before she walked off too far and asked if she needed help. She merely shook her head and thanked him for offering his help anyway. She was able to walk normally without her slight limp. Like she said, it wasn't a big deal.

* * *

As Class 1-A gathered outside the USJ facility, everyone began talking in their own little groups about the incident.

"The Squall Zone?" Mizuha repeated.

Byakuren nodded while playing with the tips of his white spiky hair. His hair was beginning to dry now that he was no longer in the rain. He was just hoping that he wouldn't catch a cold later on.

When the two friends were reunited, Mizuha was surprisingly not questioned by Byakuren. She thought she would have gotten a quick and short interrogation about how she tried saving Kirishima and Bakugo. But no, nothing of the sort. Not even a small tease from him.

The class was then told to return to their classroom by the police detective Tsukauchi. Not without being informed about the state of their instructors. Shouta Aizaiwa had sustained critical injuries while fending off the villains from his students. Both of his arms were shattered and his face was also fractured. Fortunately, there was no brain damage along with those injuries. However, his eyes may long-term effects. Thirteen on the other hand had terrible lacerations across their back and arms, but their life was no in danger. All Might would also be alright. Recovery Girl was more than capable enough to heal his wounds.

Midoriya Izuku was also admitted to the nurse's office.

Mizuha figured he had injured himself while using his Quirk once again.

The bus ride was more or less silent. Everyone was still a little shaken up by the incident. Again, Mizuha sat alone. This time, she was sitting on the seat that their teacher had previously occupied on the ride to USJ. After hearing how he had gotten terribly injured while trying to protect his students, Mizuha had found comfort in sitting in his spot. She was sitting properly while keeping her gaze on the giant glass window in front of her. The outside view that was in front of her couldn't keep her mind off of her teacher's condition.

She knew that there was no doubt that their homeroom teacher would live, but the memory of him leaping down the stairs and protecting her and classmates was playing like a broken record. Then there was the fresh memory of seeing his damaged body being transported into the ambulance.

 _So this is what Pro Heroes have to face?_

Mizuha clenched her fists on her lap and let her head rest back against the seat. She bit her lip as she felt her body shake uncontrollably. A wave of heartache mixed with fear suddenly crashed into her whole being.

 _Of course this is what they have to face... but seeing something like that again..._

The aloof student slouched forward and lowered her head into her hands. She tried holding back the tears that were threatening to fall and she used her hands to hide the presence of those soon to be falling tears. Mizuha let out a shaky breath.

 _It's scary._

For once, she was actually hoping that someone would see her and try to reach for her. She sought a non-existing comfort from someone other than Byakuren. She needed to hear something else. But how? How could she possibly get that when she made it impossible?

When they arrived back at school, they were told to change out of their Hero Costumes and return to their classroom. Lucky for them, it was currently the break before the final period.

The moment the bus doors had opened, Mizuha was quick to leave the bus and head for the school. She headed inside of the school with her hood on, she didn't want anyone to see her face at the moment. Especially those who were in the same class as her.

How stupid. She sought comfort yet she was making it impossible by running away.

Mizuha was in no way sobbing all the way to the changing rooms, but she was breathing heavily. She just needed to change and quickly wash her face before heading back to class. Mizuha ran up many stairs and dashed across the hallways. She wasn't aware of how fast she was going until she turned around the corner. She slammed into another body unintentionally. Both of them were knocked down to the floor with a yelp. Whoever she knocked down now found themselves on their rear while Mizuha found herself facing the floor right next to them. Her hood was still on her head.

Mizuha sniffed and cursed as she got on her knees.

"A-Ah... I-I'm sorry..." They said. Judging by their voice, she concluded that she ran into a male student.

 _They shouldn't be apologizing... it's my fault._

Mizuha shook her head and apologized twice before standing up and walking in front of them. She looked down at the student that she bumped into. It a guy with dark messy hair and noticeable pointy ears. He had a flustered look on his face as she reached for his hand to help him up. She made eye contact with the guy when he shakily accepted her help. When she helped him back on his feet, she couldn't help but notice that he was almost at the same height as Byakuren... meaning a giant.

"Sorry." Mizuha bowed down before bolting down the hallway.

She was quick to change out of her costume, it didn't take her too long to calm down either. After washing her face near the bathroom sink and breathed in and then breathed out heavily. Her eyes were not really showing any signs of her tears, they weren't puffy anymore since she lightly covered her hands with ice to ease her eyes.

Mizuha decided to take the longer route back to her classroom, she didn't want to meet any of the girls on the way there. She merely walked past the other students circulating in the hallways with her normal disinterested face.

Class 1-A finished the day with mathematics. Her uncle was the one teaching math for that class. Ectoplasm was still busy at USJ with some other teachers because the Principal wanted them there. A few stayed behind while the rest were told to return to the school and continue their job as a teacher. Eijin informed the class that the school will be closed the next day due to the recent incident. However, the day after would be a normal school day and all classes would resume. Mizuha ignored her uncle's lesson and simply worked on the activities he listed on the board. She opened her activity book and her calculation notebook. Multitasking was an easy forte for Mizuha, she had no problem doing the work while taking down the notes he was writing on the board.

 _I just want to go home already... Its been a long day..._

 ** _—RIIIIING!_**

"Alright, don't forget to finish the work you didn't finish in class. That's your homework." Eijin said right after hearing the bell. He began packing up the things scattered across the teacher's desk.

Mizuha was quicker and was already set to head home. There was something she needed to ask Recovery Girl. She zipped her blue backpack close and slung it on her right shoulder. She grabbed her headphones in her other hand and got up from her seat.

The niece walked up to the front of the classroom, "Um, Uncle Eijin." She called lowly for only his ears. It was convenient that everyone was talking loudly.

Eijin stopped in his tracks and glanced behind his shoulder. He was surprised to see his niece all set to leave school in only few seconds after the bell. He turned around and faced her curiously, "What's up, Mizuha?"

Mizuha rubbed the back of her neck, "Um... I was wondering if Recovery Girl was available... I need to speak with her... Can I go see her?"

Eijin visibly tensed at her question. Mizuha wondered why his eyebrows shot up in surprise. He then cleared his throat and shook his head, "I'm sorry, Mizuha but she's currently busy healing All Might and Midoriya. I'm afraid you're going to have to ask her after tomorrow."

Mizuha frowned, "Really? But it's really important... I need to ask her stuff about Quirks..."

 _She's the school nurse at a school where its purpose is to train students with Quirks! If I need guidance, she's the first person I should ask! I need to know if she knows anything that might help me use my Quirk properly!_

Eijin closed his eyes and breathed out heavily. He started ruffling his hair before shaking his head once more, "Sorry Mizuha, but the nurse's office is closed until she finishes healing those two."

Hyoumei groaned dejectedly before nodding her head slowly. Her uncle then excused himself since he had other matters to deal with before heading home. He told Mizuha to take care on the way home. Understandable, considering the day she went through.

She then sighed heavily before dropping her head. She really didn't want to wait until after tomorrow. The U.A Sports Festival was getting near, she wasn't exactly sure when it would come but she was beginning to fear that she was probably running out of time. Mizuha doubted that Aizawa would give her a month or two to recover... which is probably the reason he selected the entire U.A Sports Festival as her deadline in the first place.

Mizuha felt a tap on her shoulder. She lazily peeked over her shoulder to see who it was and, lo and behold, it was Byakuren with his usual foxy smile, "Let's go?" He nudged her with his shoulder as he walked past her.

Mizuha stared at his back while he walked to the classroom door. It's as if something had clicked inside of her. She couldn't help but notice how he seemed so... independent. He was so confident in himself. The way he walked made it seem so. He wasn't walking with his chin up like an arrogant man, there was no need for that.

Her eyesbrow furrowed slightly and a small frown appeared on her lips. She felt forlorn.

Byakuren was always the one that stood next to her. She always stood next to him. They didn't live to far from each other. They enjoyed common activities together. They had the same birth date. They were similar. At least she thought they were.

No, they were quite different.

He had no problem making friends, he was fine socially. And then she was the complete opposite. If she were to be completely honest, she didn't want him to make any other friends. Was she too protective? Was she selfish? She didn't know.

Mizuha followed after Byakuren in silence.

 _It feels... a little lonely now that I think about it._


	11. Chapter 11: The Nearing Deadline

The sky was already looking orange by the time Mizuha returned home. It probably took her five or seven minutes to get to her place. The bus usually dropped her off in front of a huge park that she normally had to walk through. She had to take a footpath that she had to walk _up_ on. That was the most annoying path to take, especially if it's really hot outside. The mere thought of walking up in the blazing hot sun was such a detestable thing for her. But this was compensated with the small water park (that was found in the park) that was accessible to everyone. Mizuha would sometimes drag herself over to the water park and simply reach for a handful of water, without getting her uniform wet, and just wash her face with it.

Hot days meant getting stuck in the bus and getting packed like a bunch of sardines.

She didn't care how she looked at that point. She was sweating and her hair was also probably a mess. It didn't matter to her in the slightest since she didn't plan on leaving the house until the next day.

If her Quirk was like when she was younger, she could have just provided herself with water with her Quirk.

Mizuha sighed heavily when she reached her house. She was finally home.

After unlocking her door and stepping in, she didn't bother turning on the lights at the entrance. Too much effort. There was light coming from outside anyway.

She shuffled her feet all the way to her room. The room in her lights also remained closed when she entered her domain. Her bag was more or less gently placed on the floor next to her desk. Mizuha removed her gray jacket and placed the back rest of her desk chair. She removed her school shirt and held it in her hand while she opened her closet. She wrapped it in a ball and tossed it into her closet.

"Damn it." She muttered when it hit her clothes that was hanging. She was actually aiming for the laundry basket in the corner of her closet but she always forgot that the likeliness of actually making it in was slim because of her hanged clothes.

She picked it up from the floor and properly threw it in the hamper.

The search for her house clothes proved to be a difficult one.

Mizuha's mother had always taught her to change out of her uniform and wear her house clothes so that she could wear her uniform without having it to be creased. (A lesson clearly learned since Mizuha never used to change out of her uniform when she came home).

She figured her mother took her house clothes to wash.

The white desk in Mizuha's room was also a drawer. On the extremities of her desk, there were three drawers. They were set apart by the huge gap that permitted her to put her legs in order to work on her desk.

Mizuha opened the second drawer on the left and pulled out a red t-shirt along with brown shorts. Home was the only place where she would wear shorts. She never dared to wear shorts in public to hide her childhood scars.

Mizuha looked down her lightly scarred knees.

Unlike other girls that were her age when she was a kid, she liked to move around. According to her mother, she didn't like to stay in once place... she was always moving around. That trait as a child gave her scars on her legs. She could still remember that small bike accident she had in the park. She didn't know what the hell she was thinking back then. Apparently, she was biking at a regular speed on footpath track in the aforementioned park. She had spotted an elderly lady about to walk across the footpath not too far away from her. Mizuha was determined to actually make it before the old lady. She biked even faster. Unfortunately, getting there required drifting her bike a mere fifty degree angle.

That fifty degree angle somehow made her bike turn to the point where it tilted and she fell off her bike while scraping both her knees against the ground. Funny how it was that same old lady that advised her to put on an ice pack on her knees.

Now that she thought back on the memory, it was probably because her god brother happened to be in the park with his friends. Was she trying to impress him and his friends? Maybe.

Her god brother's friends was kind enough to run to her and see if she was alright. What a nice teenager. She remembered how no tears were shed that day and that they were kind enough to bring her back home.

Mizuha huffed when she placed her folded pants on top of her uniform jacket.

 _No school tomorrow... No math homework for me... I guess I can sleep at like what? 2 AM? Mizuha the Nocturnal Hero is back at it again..._

Mizuha went over to her small fridge and grabbed a juice box. As she made a rhythm type of noise by clicking her tongue, she walked over to the plastic drawers in the corner of her room that was just behind her door. She plucked out a box of milk flavored Pocky and then walked out of her room. She walked to the living room with her snacks under her arm and with her IPhone, that he grabbed on the way out, in her right hand.

 _I might as well play video games... Final Fantasy XV here I come~_

* * *

Mizuha woke up at the sound of someone attempting to open her front door. Her eyes opened without wasting a second. She fell asleep on the couch in her living room. She sat up in a daze with her lips parted. When she looked at her flat screen television, she noticed how a blonde character was just standing and looking straight at her. The other three main characters of the game were simply walking around behind him.

She looked at the rectangular coffee table in front of her. Her PS4 controller was just sitting next to her half empty Pocky box. Her juice box was a few inches away from the couple.

Mizuha craved more apple juice. She grabbed her juice box and immediately set it down, "Tche, empty."

She checked her phone.

 _9:55 PM_

The door opened, "Hey."

Mizuha crawled over to the other end of the couch to greet the newcomer, "Hi momma~"

She craned her neck to see her mother.

Immediately after her mother entered the house, she spotted a plastic bag that was carrying a large brown paper bag inside. Mizuha's eyes had stars in them.

Her mother placed the bag down next to the door and began removing her shoes, "Mizuha, put this in the kitchen."

Mizuha was quick to obey her mother. In fact, she literally jumped off the couch to do what she was asked, "You bought take out!"

She carried the bag all the way to the kitchen. There was a bounce with each step she took.

The door shut closed and her mother came into her view.

Her mother was almost at the same height as her (being a tall tree was the norm on her mother's side). She had short platinum blonde hair and lighter onyx coloured eyes. She was wearing a dark green spring jacket and black pants. Her mother's name was Mizuki Hyoumei (née Kishoukei).

She rushed into the bathroom while telling Mizuha to take out the plates from the cupboard.

Her father came in the house not too long after, and by that time the plates were already set on the table. Tenran Hyoumei was a man with dark coloured hair and dark onyx coloured hues.

Mizuha was already sitting and was chewing on a piece of chicken.

"Hey Mizuha." Tenran greeted her when he passed by her seat.

She hummed in reply since her mouth was full.

It was late, her parents didn't waste anytime eating dinner. This was the normal. Her mother worked at several jobs in different places. Her first employer was the one that made this possible. Her connections gave Mizuki more jobs to work at. She would generally return home somewhere around the afternoon before dinner. It gave her enough time to cook the meal for the night. However, there were some days where she would return home late with her dad. One of the reasons is because near the time she got off of work, she needed to pass by the highway that had too much traffic. Her mother and father would lay low for a while until there was less traffic. Her father worked in the industrial field (and he also sold cars as a small side job). He was never there when Mizuha woke up in the morning since he left at around four in the morning to avoid traffic early in the morning. Then he would return home at around four o'clock in the afternoon. But sometimes Tenran would leave right away to help his partner with car stuff and then go pick up Mizuki.

Needless to say, Mizuha was left home alone quite a lot. She was able to fill the void with having Byakuren over her house a couple of times.

Like usual, Mizuha's phone was sitting in front of her playing a funny video that she found on the internet.

Mizuki set down her glass of water after taking a sip, "Mizuha, I heard that the press trespassed on the school grounds."

Mizuha scoffed in annoyance while watching her video. Yeah, the press wasn't really Mizuha's favorite thing at the moment, "Yeah, those idiots just waltzed in and caused a big ass panic in the school."

Tenran raised an eyebrow, "A panic?"

Mizuha nodded and paused her video, "It was during lunch time. Everyone was freaking out. We all thought villains snuck inside the school..."

 _Well... they DID later on during the day... Not INSIDE the school but somewhere else on school grounds..._

"What did you and Byakuren do?" Her mother asked curiously.

Mizuha took a sip of her water while holding up a finger. She let out a satisfied gasp, "Yeah, that's the thing. He wasn't with me... I had like a mini panic attack because I literally thought we were in danger."

Tenran froze, "You had a panic attack?"

She nodded, "Yeah it wasn't that big of a deal. Everything was cool after that."

She chose to leave out Bakugo's part in the story because she didn't want her mom going all Sherlock Holmes on her. Every time Mizuha would mention someone that she did not know she _wanted_ to know who it was.

Ah what the hell.

"Some guy helped me calm the frick down." She said nonchalantly.

Mizuki perked up, "Who?" _There it is._

Mizuha groaned, "Maa, you don't know him. We just started school okay. He's my classmate and he's probably... no I think he's the best student in my class."

Mizuki looked impressed by this new knowledge, "Oh really? What's he like?"

Mizuha chuckled, "He's like his Quirk."

Tenran finished his plate and stood up from his seat, "And what's his Quirk like?"

She quickly replied, "Explosions!"

Both of her parents looked at her in surprise. They began painting the picture of an explosion and slowly started associating the image with a person. She just hoped they didn't literally picture her classmate exploding...

Mizuha pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek, _Hmm... should I tell her about the villains from USJ?_

 ** _—DING!_**

Mizuha looked at her mother's phone that just had the screen light up from receiving a message.

Her mother stopped eating and peeked her phone's screen. She looked surprised and picked up the device from the table, "I got an email from your school."

Mizuha chuckled nervously, "I'll be right back."

The young girl got up from her seat and then bolted to her room.

"YOU GOT ATTACKED BY VILLAINS AT SCHOOL?! OH MY GOD!" Her mother exclaimed.

"SHE GOT WHAT?!" Her father followed.

Mizuha peeked behind her door, "Yeaaah..."

That night Mizuha knocked out pretty quick. The take out got her sleepy pretty fast.

The following day, Mizuha woke up at her own pace. She found herself on her back with both arms up towards the headboard. The light from the window was poking through the white blinds. The blinds proved to be superior than the sunlight when it succeeded on protecting its master from getting light in her face. She groaned when she rested her arms next to her body. Immediately, she felt her right arm fall on top of her beloved headphones. She grabbed her headphones and placed them on the chair of her desk chair that was next to her bed.

As any normal child growing up, Mizuha used to have a safety rail on the side of her bed. She only had one since her mother always placed her bed next to the wall. To prevent Mizuha from slamming her head on the wall in her sleep, Mizuki used to place this big body pillow to prevent such a thing. As a teenager, this set up did not change. She still owned a body pillow that was usually placed next to the wall. As a substitute for the safety rail, Mizuha had an extra pillow on the side. That extra pillow wasn't needed as a rail but... old habits die hard.

Her desk chair next to her bed every night simply served as her movable night table.

Mizuha pulled herself in a sitting position with much difficulty only to fall right back down on the pillow. She pulled up her covers and snuggled into her pillow.

 _Heaven right here... fluffy everywhere... Me likey..._

At that moment her door opened. Mizuha looked up and saw that her mother was there, "Let's eat." was all she said before releasing the doorknob and walking back to the kitchen where breakfast was made. Mizuha could smell the eggs from her bed.

Mizuha wordlessly and literally jumped out of her bed. She nearly slipped and fell on her side.

She went straight to the bathroom and washed her face with cold water. Using cold water from the bathroom sink was a good way to wake her up when she woke up, it was something she learned after becoming an owl. Sleeping at two in the morning and waking up at five thirty. Sure, her body was used to it and had no problem waking up but it was always good to do so.

Mizuha joined her mother at the kitchen table. _White rice and scrambled eggs._

Mizuha wasn't fond of egg yolk. Her mother learned that scrambled eggs was the best way for her to eat the yolk as a child.

"So how's getting your Quirk back to normal?" Her mother asked out of the blue.

 _" I will give you until the end of the U.A Sports Festival to finally and properly move on. The proof of that will be when I see the full use of your Quirk if not... I'm afraid I'm going to have to expel you."_

Mizuha sighed. She placed her elbow on the table and ran her fingers her hair, "Nothing so far... but I'm going to ask Recovery Girl for advice... if she has any."

Mizuki silently watched as her daughter stressed about her current predicament. The day Aizawa pulled out the expulsion card on her, Mizuha took out her phone and explained her situation to her mom. She was trying to ask if she knew anything about using water normally.

Mizuki's Quirk gave her the ability to manipulate water as an emitter. Tenran's Quirk was one that gave him the ability to change the temperature of an object upon contact and to change the temperature of a room (or specifically whatever he was capable of reaching).

Those two Quirks synergized well as it gave Mizuha the ability to manipulate water too and to change its form thanks to her father's Quirk.

Unfortunately, her mother didn't know how to help her. Her Quirk was different than her mothers.

"I hope she can help you, I'd hate to see you get expelled because of this." She said with a sigh.

Mizuha nodded, "Yeah... I don't really want to have to look up different schools to apply to... I really want to stay in U.A..."

With nothing to do, Mizuha spent the day being lazy. Her mother didn't stay home for too long since she had to go to work. She tried asking Byakuren if he wanted to hang out but he was watching his little sister because she had no school today either.

Nothing else happened. It was the same thing. She was home alone and her parents came home a little earlier this time.

The most exciting thing that happened that day was the majority of the channels talking about how USJ got a villain attack. She was on the new for a few seconds!

* * *

Mizuha drummed her fingers on her desk as she heard her classmates talking about the news. She just wanted homeroom to start already. She didn't know who the substitute teacher and she just hoped it wasn't some loser that didn't know what the hell they were doing in a classroom.

She flinched in surprise when Iida suddenly yelled in front of the whole classroom, "Everyone! Morning homeroom's about to start! To your seats!"

Everyone simply stared at him as he was the only one standing. Kirishima and Seto pointed this out to him and he marched over to his seat in embarrassment. Mizuha narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance as he left her field of vision.

 _Capable but yet... strange._

Not a few seconds later, their classroom door slid open...

... and revealed Aizawa looking like a mummy.

"Morning." His voice sounded muffled because of all of the bandages wrapped on his face. Can this man see at all?!

"Mr. Aizawa, you're back too soon!" The whole class exclaimed.

Mizuha's mouth dropped open. _Dude rest up or something! You deserve to rest!_

She watched as his figure wobbled to the teacher's desk. _Dude?! Aizawa?! GO REST IN A BED!_

He made it to the front of the classroom, "My welfare isn't important because your fight is far from over."

Mizuha tilted her head, _I thought all the villains were arrested...?_

Aizawa lowered his head and his eyes peeked behind the bandages, "The U.A Sports Festival is drawing near."

Mizuha's eyes slowly widened in horror. While everyone cheered for a normal event, Mizuha was the only student in the classroom who was not looking so hot. She could feel herself beginning to shake now that she could feel the deadline closing in on her.

A few students were unsure about the current upcoming event. It didn't seem right to hold such a big thing right after villains had snuck inside the school. It was possible that they could attack again.

"Apparently, they think of it as U.A showing that our crisis management system is solid as a rock by holding the event." He explained through his bandages, "Security will also be strengthened to five times that of previous years." He added to reassure to worried students.

"Above all, our sports festival is the greatest chance. It's not an event that can be canceled over a few villains." He said.

Mizuha quirked up an eyebrow, _I'm sorry... few villains? The news said seventy-two! Including the other two that ran away!_

In the days before Quirks manifested, sports fans would obsess over the Olympic Games. When powers became apart of the equation, the U.A. Sports Festival became the most watched sporting event in the world. It was the event that most Pro-Heroes across the country would watch in order to scout students.

 _That also means... that other schools could be watching too... Maybe this is not a total loss after all... If I perform well in the Sports Festival... maybe I could apply for another school if things go bad..._

"Time is limited. If you expect to go pro, then the path to your future will open up at this event. This also happens once a year... so you've got three chances. No aspiring heroes can hope to miss this event. If you understand that, then don't slack off in your preparations!" He said before finally dismissing homeroom.

When it was lunch time, Mizuha grabbed her bag and bolted out of her classroom. She couldn't waste anymore time, she had to see Recovery Girl as soon as possible.

"HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Byakuren yelled after her.

She made a mental note to message him via phone when she was done. Mizuha was running past many students who were calmly walking to the cafeteria. She was lucky enough to have not ram into another student like last time.

 _God dammit! Why didn't I do this before?! This should have been the first thing I did after Aizawa told me all of that! Now it's here! I'm running out of freaking time!_

Mizuha spotted the nurse's office not too far away after turning around a corner. She panted all the way to Recovery Girl's office. The news of the Sports Festival had definitely got her adrenaline running and going chaotic.

She knocked timidly against the surface of the door, she was just hoping that it wasn't _too_ timid to the point where she couldn't hear it. Recovery Girl was an elderly woman after all.

"Come in." Chiyo Shuzenji's muffled voice said from the other side.

Mizuha breathed in deeply before sliding the door open.

"Hello." She greeted when entering the nurse's office.

The elderly woman was sitting on her desk chair. Shuzenji didn't recognize her face. She smiled kindly at Mizuha, "And who might you be, young lady?"

Mizuha bowed down, "Hyoumei Mizuha."

"Well Hyoumei, is there anything I can help you with?"


	12. Chapter 12: Holding Back

Mizuha sat down on one of the two beds in the office. Her bag was set in between her legs when she rubbed the back of her neck, "I have a... uh Quirk problem."

She was nervous, seeing how the elderly woman was staring at her patiently just added more pressure to her. It was beginning to make her shy.

Upon noticing some body language, Recovery Girl set down the pen that was in her right on back in the pencil holder. She maneuvered her desk chair so that she faced the young girl and to give her full attention.

"Don't hold back, if something's wrong and you need help you need only say it."

Mizuha let out a sheepish chuckle, "How do I start?"

"Knowing your Quirk might help. I could look for your file." She suggested.

Explanation about the problem with her Quirk was what first came to mind. She explained how she first listed her Quirk as an Ice type until Aizawa had to correct it himself.

"Actually, I've heard about you. Aizawa did tell me about how a certain Class 1-A student had to get her file corrected because she lied about her Quirk."

Mizuha pouted.

Shuzenji hopped off her chair and went over to yellow metal drawer. She blocked Mizuha's view but the young girl was trying to peek over the little old lady. Finally, she pulled a yellow file and read her name out loud.

"Hyoumei?" She repeated before turning around to face her. "Hyoumei... Do you have an older brother?"

Mizuha's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Uh... Y-Yes... His name is Shiran Hyoumei..."

Instantly, the old lady brightened up with a smile, "So _you're_ the infamous little sister he talked about!" She laughed lightly before hopping back on her chair.

"... Infamous what?"

Recovery Girl placed her file on her desk.

"Your brother used to get hurt a lot. His Quirk always gave him trouble if he wasn't careful."

Mizuha cringed at the thought. Her brother's Quirk was like hers except he could only manipulate water. Her brother wasn't always the most careful person when it came to handling his own Quirk. She could still remember that time he tried impressing a kid by trying to retrieve their soccer ball from the street by using a certain warping trick but ended up crashing face first on the ground.

"I would scold him for not being careful, but he would just smile and start talking about you. I think he just wanted to interrupt my scolding by talking about you, that little rascal."

"... Nice, I was an excuse, alright..." Mizuha muttered sourly. You would have thought he talked about her because she was his 'adorable little sister' as he would say.

... Nowadays, anyone who tried calling her things such as _cute_ or _adorable_ was only a second away of catching her _cute_ hands (depending on how they said it).

"It says here that you put Cyrokinesis but Aizawa says that your Quirk is Water Phase. He also added that your Quirk stopped _working_ correctly five years ago. When... you know."

 _Ah, so she knows what happened to Shiran..._

"Yeah."

"What's the problem then?"

"I can only use the solid form of my Quirk. Liquid and gas practically doesn't exist anymore."

Recovery Girl paused for a moment, seeing her stop and think for a moment made Mizuha remember that she was dealing with a school NURSE... she wasn't sure if the lady knew anything about Quirk problems. Maybe nurses didn't know about these things...

 _Do Quirk doctors exist?_

"Your brother once mentioned that you were proud of your Quirk."

"... Yeah."

She looked at her file thoughtfully. Mizuha was stiff, wondering if the school nurse actually an idea about what she had. She hoped that was the case, she didn't want to apply for another school if possible.

Shuzenji nodded and hummed for a moment. "Do you have a concrete reason to be a hero?"

Mizuha stared at the nurse for a moment.

 _She blinked as she looked at the horrific scene in front of her. It was supposed to be a normal day where she and her uncle were simply taking a walk together. Yet here she was watching her uncle help evacuate the remaining civilians from a building fire._

 _The building was actually a warehouse that provided support equipment for heroes. According to the people around, a group of villains raided the building to steal the equipment. Setting the building on fire was also part of their scheme._

 _Luckily, a group of heroes arrived on the scene and stopped the villains before they got away. They were arrested by the police not too soon after. Now, people were being brought out of the building. For a seven year old, seeing people being carried in a stretcher after receiving gun shots, it was not a sight for a child's eyes._

 _People were crying and pleading to see the injured as the ambulance took them in._

 _Eijin jogged back towards his niece and kneeled down in front of her, "We should get you home. Come on Mizuha."_

 _He attempted to pull her by the hand until he noticed how hurt she looked. The older man slowly looked at what his niece was staring at._

 _"Please! That's my husband!"_

 _"Ma'am! We have to bring him to the hospital!"_

 _"Take me with you!" She pleaded as tears fell freely from her eyes._

 _Mizuha felt saddened at seeing how the lady refused to leave her husband's side. Her own tears started to fall and she sniffled. Eijin immediately scooped her up from the ground and carried in his arms and away from the scene._

 _"Uncle Eijin... is that guy going to be okay?"_

 _"... I'm sure he will."_

 _"... That lady looked really sad."_

 _"Yes, I know."_

 _She sniffled again and cried a little. Her uncle made the effort to wipe away her tears with the pads of his thumbs._

 _"It's sad."_

 _"And that's why we're here. We protect people because we don't want people to cry."_

 _That memory was the start that helped build up my dream to be a Hero. I didn't like seeing people suffering because someone close to them was hurt. It always reminded me that someone, no matter who they were, was always waiting for them to return. I wanted to grow up and be that high chance that could help someone during bad times so that they can go home. It seemed foolish at the age of eight, but seeing my brother having the same thought made it seem worth it._

"Yeah, I want to be a hero that protects people so that others don't have to feel sad. If possible, I want to be a small glimmer of hope for people. I want to protect the happiness that people bring to one another."

"Then what is holding you back?" Recovery Girl asked.

 _Huh?_

Mizuha looked confused, "I-I'm sorry?"

"Hyoumei. Your case is very rare. This doesn't usual happen in U.A because everyone retains a certain confidence in their abilities. You on the other hand... how should I put it... It's like as if you had stage fright. You suddenly lost confidence in your abilities." Shuzenji tried explaining.

Mizuha didn't say a word. Surprised, she remained speechless. It was the last thing she was expecting to her. Among the many possible reasons, lack of confidence in her skills was the last thing that she could have thought of.

"B-But I'm fine..."

"Well, your Quirk says otherwise."

 _The way you use your Quirk is like how you are right now, stuck and unable to move on. You can't keep doing this."_

"So... my problem is my lack of confidence?" She manage to say after a few seconds of silence.

Recovery Girl nodded, "That _is_ the case for most cases like yours."

Honestly, she didn't know how to feel knowing the real reason. She thought her Quirk might have been defective or something.

The elderly lady looked up at clock sitting on the wall just above her desk, "Well I hope I was able to help you Hyoumei. But you should probably go eat lunch now or else you won't have time to eat at your own pace."

Numbly, Mizuha nodded and bowed down while saying her thanks.

She forgot to text Byakuren.

* * *

"Where did you go?"

Mizuha shrugged and took her seat next to Kirishima, she no longer minded about the red head sitting next to her.

She looked at her pseudo brother and saw him breathing heavily through his nose while he chewed his food. He avoided her stare and continued indulging himself in his food.

Mizuha exhaled deeply, growing more curious by the second. Why the hell did he look like he just came back from P.E?

"What's up with you?"

"Hm?"

"You're panting."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No."

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at him. Byakuren gave her a foxy smile before booping her on the nose, she slapped his hand away with a scowl.

Kirishima pushed his tray a little further away from him. He then twisted his body to look at Mizuha, "You left class pretty fast. Were you okay, Hyoumei?" asked Kirishima with slight worry.

Mizuha's eyebrows rose up in surprise, "... Oh I was um... I went to the nurse's office."

"What? Whoa, are you okay?" he instantly asked.

Mizuha shook her hands in front of her, "I'm fine!" She quickly replied with a nervous chuckle.

Byakuren laughed in front of them, catching both of their attention. Byakuen was already done with his food and he was simply sitting back and watching both of them, "Wow, I think this is actually the first time that someone other than me has actually worried over Miss Ice Queen."

Mizuha shot him a fixed stare for the nickname.

Kirishima chuckled with a shrug, "Why shouldn't I? Hyoumei is my friend too."

Byakuren gave her a shit eating grin when she was rendered speechless for the second time that day.

"You hear that, Mizuha? Kirishima is your friend~"

Mizuha chuckled nervously once more before kicking his leg under the table. Byakuren comically jumped out of his seat and started hopping on his painless limb.

Mizuha smirked evilly at her current enemy, "Y'know some people would just sit and wallow in their pain. I don't know why you're jumping like a pogo stick."

Byakuren hissed in pain and Kirishima laughed at his display of misery.

Unbeknownst to Mizuha, Kirishima was staring at her with a piqued interest. Perhaps Byakuren was right after all, he was starting to see it now that he knew.

 _Byakuren ran back into the cafeteria, sitting back at his usual table where Kirishima was staring at him weirdly._

 _"Welcome back."_

 _"Thanks for guarding my food."_

 _"No problem... but do you mind if I ask why you just rushed outta here like a mad dog?"_

 _Byakuren laughed heartily as he started picking up his chopsticks, "I just went somewhere real quick~"_

 _"Where?"_

 _A devilish glint appeared in the white haired boy's eyes, "You wanna know?"_

 _"I guess?"_

 _"Are you sure you wanna know?"_

 _"... I'm starting to think I probably shouldn't know."_

 _"And I think that you should probably not ask then."_

 _Kirishima made a boyish pout before looking back at his food. Byakuren grinned in a jovial manner._

 _"Hey, Kirishima."_

 _The red head looked up, "Yeah?"_

 _"What do you think about my little friend Mizuha?" asked Byakuren before taking a bite out of his food._

 _Kirishima stopped chewing his food and looked up thoughtfully, setting down his cutlery. He paused, leaning back in his seat. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply when he crossed his arms over his chest._

 _"Well, from what I've seen so far... she's got some bravery in her. Enough to go up against a fourth faux villain to help others. She's also pretty good at combat. She- Oh, she really cares for you, so I guess she really cares about her friends. She can misunderstand what others mean. She's a little shy. But she's pretty cool and she's a nice girl!" He finished with a satisfied smile._

 _Byakuren bursted out laughing to the point where he had tears coming out of his eye, "Oh my god! Kirishima noooo!" He squeaked._

 _Kirishima looked around them when he noticed that other students started staring, "Oi! Kyouran! You're too loud!" whispered Kirishima in attempted to calm down the laughing boy._

 _Byakuren gasped for air and wiped away a tear from his right eye, "Oof... Kirishima you really got me there."_

 _"What was so funny?!"_

 _"You said she was a nice girl! Ah geez, if only you knew her better!"_

 _"... Huh?"_

 _"Okay, listen here." Byakuren leaned closer, "I'm about to spill everything you need to know about Mizuha. And trust me, what I'm about to tell you is the truth and nothing but the truth."_

 _Curiously, Kirishima leaned closer, "... Alright...?"_

 _"The way you described Mizuha is like the first layer of her personality. Especially that last part. She only acts like that when she doesn't know someone that well. But I'm telling you right now... her personality is a total one hundred and eighty degrees. You've seen the abuse she's done to me, haven't you?"_

 _"... You mean when she literally knocked the wind out of you the day of with had our first class with All Might?" Kirishima grinned._

 _Byakuren sweat dropped, "Yup." He answered with a dejected sigh._

 _He continued, "But anyway Mizuha is like a one of a kind girl. She's sarcastic, she can be rude as heck, she's lazy- I mean she gives me her money when we go eat together because she's too lazy to get up! She has no problem threatening people and hitting them if they get on her nerves... well I'm not sure because I'm her usual target... but she can get pretty evil when she wants to. She can cuss, my friend. She can say whatever is on her mind without remorse. She can be sooo mean."_

 _Kirishima blinked, "... What? Really?"_

 _Byakuren nodded, "Yeah. She's totally different. She's really holding back. Mizuha only acts like this because she's pretty shy around new people. It's like a mask. I mean she is brave and you're also right about the caring part. Trust me, I've known her longer than you."_

 _The red head leaned away from the table and had a conflicted look on his face, "... Well, now that you told me this... I think I need to see that for myself."_

 _Byakuren leaned back in his seat with a soft smile, "Well, just know that if you finally get to know her this way... it's not a bad thing."_

 _"Why is that?"_

 _"Because once you get past that second layer, you can see that genuine part of her that you call a nice girl."_

 _Kirishima stayed silent for a moment, letting Byakuren's final words sink in. "Why are you telling me all this?"_

 _"Because- crap time's up. Pretend nothing happened. She's coming." Byakuren whispered quickly before looking down at his food._

* * *

Mizuha's eye twitched.

There standing outside of Class 1-A's door was a pile of students standing and just staring at the students inside the classroom.

She and Byakuren were standing behind Uraraka. The exit was completely blocked.

"What business do you have with Class 1-A?" Iida's voice came from behind them along with Mineta's who was asking them what they came to do.

Bakugo, not caring one bit about the crowd in front of him, walked towards the door, "Scouting out the enemy, small fry. We're the one who made it out of the villains' attack. They probably wanna check us out before the Sports Festival."

Some of the students at the front leaned back when Bakugo stopped in front of them, "Out of my way cannon fodder."

Byakuren muffled a laugh with his hand while Mizuha sighed in annoyance.

"I came to see what the famous Class A was like, but you all just seem pretty arrogant." a student said as he made his way to the front.

In the front was now standing a male student with dark purple hair who had heavy bags under his eyes. Mizuha narrowed her eyes at his next comment, "Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned."

"Those of us who didn't make the Hero Course are stuck in the general studies or other courses because they didn't make it. There's quite a few of us. Did you know that? The school has left those of us a chance, though. Depending on the results of the Sports Festival, they might consider transferring us into the Hero Course. And… I understand the _reverse_ is also possible for you."

Byakuren and Mizuha tensed at the new information. No one was happy about it, that much was pretty obvious. To be suddenly transferred out of the Hero Course based on their performance in the Sports Festival? That wasn't fair.

"Scouting the enemy?" the boy then repeated Bakugo's earlier claim. "For a general studies kid like me... This'll be the perfect chance to knock you off your pedestals. Consider this a declaration of war."

Byakuren kept his eyes in front of him while he leaned closer to Mizuha.

"Let loose for now?" He suggested in a low voice.

Mizuha looked up as if lost in her thoughts, then shrugged, "Do what you want."

With that, Byakuren made his move, "A declaration of war you say?" He did close eyed smile as took a few steps forward, "No problem my purple haired friend. I'd hate to get my place stolen, especially since I've worked hard to get here. All of us here got in because we proved we could be here thanks to hard efforts. Yes, perhaps the Sports Festival is a way to prove yourselves. As Aizawa-sensei once said, the entrance exams weren't rational enough. Some of you probably have Quirks that didn't... how should I put it? Suit a _physical entrance exams._ Indeed, this is your chance to prove yourselves."

Byakuren was now standing face-to-face with the daring student, "However, please note that none of us would make it easy for you to just... how did you put it? Knock us off our pedestals?" His eyes re-opened dangerously.

Some of the students in Class 1-A had their mouth open as they witnessed a new side of Byakuren.

Kirishima looked bewildered, _Maybe Hyoumei isn't the only one hiding their true personality..._

"Kyouran?! Not you too! Now they hate us!" Kirishima practically whined.

Ignoring the red head, the white haired boy whirled around, smiling at the irritated girl, "Let's go Mizuha." He said in a cheerful tone before making his way past the crowd.

Said girl followed in suit without a word while shaking her head at what just transpired.

 _Greeeat, not only did Bakugo make an enemy for us but Byakuren just provoked the hell out of these students... They'll be dead set on trying to prove they can get into the Hero Course... Shit._

Mizuha let Bakugo walk out first and drowned out the loud booming voice of another student that claimed to be from Class 1-B from next door.

As Bakugo began clearing a way for himself, Mizuha followed after to him to facilitate her task of getting past everyone as well. Suddenly, a phone was pushed closer to her face and it smacked her square in the eye.

A crowd was in front of their classroom.

She just wanted to go home.

It was hard enough to leave.

Students were declaring war on them.

Everything was annoying.

And now a phone just smacked her in the face.

She's had enough.

Mizuha growled and grabbed the person's phone without thinking.

"O-Oi! My phone! Give it back!" A girl screeched.

She didn't look back and kept on walking behind Bakugo. Clenching her hand around the device, she started to chill the phone until it became extremely cold. No ice, just cold to the touch as if it just came back inside from going through winter weather.

When she made it out of the crowd, she saw Byakuren waiting for her. Behind her, she heard the same girl yelling after her to give back her phone. She was going to make absolutely sure her phone became sluggish by the time she returned it.

 _Goddamn, stop screaming like a banshee._

Mizuha spun around her heel and faced the girl who immediately skidded to a stop. She glared her eyes at her, "The next time you wave your phone around like a flag and hit someone in the face with it, I'll throw it outside." She threatened before pushing the now cold phone into the girl's hands.

The girl gaped at her. Mizuha huffed and joined Byakuren who looked surprised. They both walked side by side as they walked down the hallway.

"Wow, look at you going all mean. I'm actually glad someone else other than me got to see that side of yours." Byakuren chuckled in amusement.

"Yeah, well. You already started a fire with Bakugo over there," she pointed at the ash blond student walking further ahead of them, "and that stupid chick back there smacked me with her phone. Like what the hell is she trying to do? Catch a video of us being normal students? What the hell?"

"Can't be helped, they wanna check us out. We're the cool kids now!" joked Byakuren while giving her a thumbs up.

Mizuha rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well... we'll just have to give it our all and aim for the top the best way we can. We can't let our efforts go to waste."


	13. Chapter 13: Already Given Up

Two weeks. Everyone had two weeks to prepare for the Sports Festival.

Mizuha glanced at her phone for the fifth time. It was already 1:55 AM.

She made a deep sigh before shutting off her laptop. The stress and anxiety was the only thing she felt for the past hour.

Sitting next to her laptop was a notebook opened at a new page that was tilted 'Emergency Schools'.

She was researching on three different schools that provided Hero Courses. It was just in case Aizawa-sensei really did plan on expelling her from U.A.

So far, Isamu Academy High School, Ketsubutsu Academy High School and Shiketsu High School were the only ones that appealed to her. Especially the last two schools.

Mizuha got up from her desk chair and decided to retire for the day (which was already the next the day). She believes that the next day never comes until she finally sleeps.

 _I have to do my absolute best at in the Sports Festival. I don't know if I can get my Quirk to work normally... I'd need to have the devil's own luck in order to achieve that. If other Hero Schools are watching the event... then maybe... if I do my best then... they might accept me if I try to apply there. There's no way they won't accept a promising looking student._

With the goal of staying in U.A or impressing other schools in mind, Mizuha was now ready to do anything she could to achieve either. She didn't have anything to lose.

* * *

With the permission of the school, Mizuha entered USJ. To start off with her two week training, she decided to work on her Quirk. She went inside the hottest simulation zone in the facility; Conflagration Zone.

Ectoplasm was the one who gave her permission in such a dangerous zone.

 _"May I know why you chose the Conflagration Zone out of all the other zones?"_

 _"Hmm? Oh... well... I have a type of Ice Quirk..." She half-lied, which was probably useless since she knew that the teachers were well aware of their students' Quirks. "I need to go over my limit, except... that it practically freezes my body. I needed a place that would mend that drawback. If I'm surrounded by constant flames then that should warm up my body in no time."_

 _"... Clever, but dangerous. Perhaps I shall watch over your training from afar in case something goes wrong."_

 _Mizuha nodded, "... Alright." As much as she didn't like the idea of being observed while training, it was obviously better than nothing._

Mizuha stepped inside the zone and immediately scowled. Heat. Everywhere.

She didn't know how they made it possible for the flames to not spread but it was impressive. She was dressed in U.A gym clothes and she didn't want to have to pay for a new set if they got burned.

Mizuha stood in the middle of zone and breathed in deeply. She extended her arms out and started visualizing what she wanted to emit. It started it a simple picture of water flowing in a circle then slowly into sphere. Despite not being able to use her liquid form, picturing water was still necessary since her solid form came from liquid. The water then shaped into a rectangular form.

Mizuha slammed her hands down on the concrete. A similar manifestation of what she imagined rose up, inclining away from her. It take too long for it to melt away into a puddle of water.

The process of creating large ice structures was repetitive.

Then, she felt it. The numbness in her arms from the cold. She was getting frostbite now. Her arms were showing layers of frost on them. Mizuha cursed under her breath.

 _"I'm sure our opponents intend to fight a defensive battle..." The dual coloured haired student said while lifting up his right hand. Mizuha's eyes widened once she was frost swirl around his hand. Her classmate approached a wall to merely place his palm on the surface and then whole building was getting completely frozen, "... but that doesn't matter to me."_

 _Mizuha stared in disbelief as ice was now the only thing that was beginning to surround her. Shoji quickly left the building as the ice continued its task. **That's... I can't manage that much ice... this much drains me...**_

Mizuha bit her lip as the memory of Todoroki's abilities with ice flooded her mind. Envy. That's what she felt now. No doubt it got her fired up.

 _I need to keep going over my limit... I need be able to create big moves and not let it take a toll on me._

It was cycle of getting frostbite and getting warm.

"You've finished training already?"

Mizuha nodded weakly, "Yes sir."

Ectoplasm examined his student. It was obvious enough that she looked drained, but still looked like she could continue. She was looking a little paler than when she first entered the Simulation Zone.

Surprisingly, her teacher actually poked one of his arms out of his trench coat. Mizuha's stared at his arm like as if it was an alien. She was aware that he had lost his legs in the line of duty but she knew he still retained arms. It was just weird to see his arm since he never flopped out of that tan coat of his.

He took hold of her right forearm. Mizuha suddenly sighed at the sudden warmth that flowed into her arm. She resisted the urge to smile.

"As I thought, a slight frostbite." He stated before releasing her arm and retreated his own inside of his coat.

She wanted to protest but she held back when she realized how weird it would have been to ask a teacher to 'keep his hand on her'.

Mizuha frowned, "I had the fire to warm me up." She tried to argue.

Her math teacher turned around and started walking towards the exit of USJ, Mizuha understood that as her cue to follow him.

"While I do wish the best from all of my students, I do not wish for them to damage themselves before their Hero career has even begun."

The student's eyes widened. She then lowered her head as if she just had been scolded, "... Sorry, sensei."

They started walking up the stairs, "I see how hard you're training for the Sports Festival. It's commendable." The Hero praised, "However, keep in mind that if you go overboard then you won't be able to perform well during the event." He warned.

"Yes sir."

 _Well, we can't have that, can we? I don't really wanna ruin any of my chances. Note to self, do not rush to improve._

* * *

She continued to train in the Conflagration Zone under a teacher's surveillance. Sniper and Midnight had been the only other teachers to actually watch her train so far. They knew about her kind of training thanks to Ectoplasm. Mizuha always worked very hard, it was seen in her school studies that she did her best. Hero type studies was not going to be an exception.

However, she wasn't so foolish to damage herself. Ectoplasm's words were engraved into her mind.

She ran every day during the evening. She preferred working on her endurance before showering. She wasn't a fan of showering in the morning.

She valued the time she had access to when it came to preparing for the Sports Festival. Mizuha did everything she could do increase that time. Byakuren started feeling concerned when she started skipping out on lunch. Mizuha tried to convince him that she was fine. It wasn't really effective since he knew how she was during important periods.

The bell rang and lunch time started.

Mizuha put away her books. She felt her stomach growl but she paid no attention to it. Her goal was stronger than her hunger at this point. Time was too valuable.

Before she could even stand up from her chair, two pairs of hands fell on both sides of her desk. Mizuha jumped in her seat and whipped her head up. She found Byakuren and Kirishima staring down at her with concerned looks.

"What?" She spat rudely towards Byakuren.

She reached for her bag and almost got it until it was snatched away from her reach. Kirishima had taken it from her, it was behind his back. Mizuha held herself back before she could bark at him like she did at Byakuren.

"Guys, I _really_ need to go." Mizuha sighed exasperatedly.

Byakuren refused to let her go wherever she wanted to go. Kirishima helped him bring Mizuha to the cafeteria. Byakuren had picked up on her habits when it came to studying for big exams during Middle School. She would sit with him and eat her waffles under a minute before rushing to the library to study not really bothering to care if Byakuren followed her or not. She would get too absorbed with the thought of studying. Sometimes she would just go straight to the library and neglect her lunch completely.

She was doing the same thing for the Sports Festival.

He would let it slide knowing she ate breakfast in the morning but this time he couldn't. The only difference was that she was training while she was hungry. Byakuren didn't want her passing out during the day because of her negligence.

Kirishima was filled in on her habits and agreed that she should be eating no matter what.

Mizuha reluctantly sat in her chair at their usual table with a scowl on her face.

Byakuren shared some of his food with her without her 'ok'. Mizuha paused her mid bite and lowered her hand at the unwelcomed addition in her container.

"I'm not eating that. I'm eating my waffles and then I'm leaving." She huffed.

Kirishima bumped her on the side lightly with his elbow, "Come on, a little more won't hurt."

Mizuha puffed her cheeks out in a childish manner when she saw Kirishima give her another one of his boyish grins. It was so unfair.

 _He's a nice guy. Damn it, I find it so hard to refuse... This is so not fair._

"If I eat this... can I leave?"

Kirishima nodded, "I just don't want you passing out during class." He said with a worried look. He told her that some of their classmates spotted her leaving USJ a couple of times and that she looked pretty drained every time she did.

Mizuha didn't even see any of her classmates. But now that she thought about it, she was kind of absorbed in her training. She probably couldn't even notice them when she walked past them. What surprised her was the fact that they were discussing about her state. She didn't think they'd concern themselves with her by the way she tried distancing herself.

No doubt she was starting to feel a little conflicted now.

While she did want to distance herself, she still couldn't control that normal feeling of wanting to associate with others.

Mizuha sighed heavily. Without a word, she started eating her food.

* * *

"Midoriya, Hyoumei." Aizawa called.

Both students looked up from their desks.

Homeroom was done. It was currently recess.

Aizawa called them over to the front desk. Once they stood side by side in front of him, he pointed at the two boxes filled with school material. Mizuha took a peek inside and just saw a bunch of neatly tucked papers inside. He needed the boxes delivered to the teachers' office.

She scowled. There goes her plans to sleep through the next ten minutes of recess. Mizuha was hoping to get some energy back since she was feeling more tired than usual. In fact, she was feeling extremely drained.

The walk to the teachers' office was quiet.

Mizuha didn't bother trying to talk to Midoriya. She didn't know anything about him but the obvious. He was childhood friends with Bakugo. He had a Quirk that always had a repercussion on his body. He was hero fanboy. He was friends with Uraraka and Iida. And she was pretty sure he was friends with Byakuren considering how that guy talked with his classmates a lot.

"Um, Hyoumei-san?"

Mizuha blinked and she was brought back to reality. Why was his voice behind her? Wasn't he walking in front of her?

She looked back and saw her green haired classmate staring at her with a confused look. He was standing in front of the teachers' office.

... Where the hell was she going?

"The teachers' office is here."

"... Oh."

Well, now she just looked stupid.

They both entered the office and was told to set down the boxes in the corner by Midnight. Mizuha spotted her uncle sleeping on his desk, legs propped up and chair pushed back. Eijin's sitting posture was slouched and his arms were crossed in front of his chest. He also had a random magazine on his face. Oh how she envied his peaceful slumber.

The platinum haired student huffed in annoyance before turning around her heel and exiting the office. She didn't bother waiting for Midoriya to catch up with her. If she could return to class now then she probably could catch some sleep before recess was over. She was sure she heard Midoriya call her name, but she didn't stop to wait for him.

When she walked in the hallway, she noticed three boys from afar that were blocking her way. They were standing in the middle of the hallway.

Mizuha rolled her eyes and walked to the right.

The boy on the right noticed her approaching and simply watched her get closer.

She kept a straight face and tried to not let it bother her. God knows what kind of curses was going through her head when she felt uncomfortable under that boy's stare.

Suddenly, the boy stuck his foot out in front of her feet.

Mizuha's eyes widened as she stumbled over his foot. Thankfully, she was able to prevent herself from falling flat on her face.

She heard the boy and his two friends laughing at her. Mizuha was sure that the other students around witnessed the little incident.

"Hyoumei-san! Are you okay?" She heard Midoriya asked with concern laced in his voice.

 _Don't screw with me, asshole!_

"I'm fine Midoriya..." Mizuha growled. She turned around and kicked the boy behind his knees with her right leg. He fell down and found himself on his knees. That definitely shut them up because now they were just staring at her with shock written all over their faces. She supposed that acted against their expectations.

Mizuha leered at him.

"Next time, I'll kick you somewhere else." She threatened before pushing him on his side with her foot.

—RING!

Mizuha groaned.

* * *

A week had gone by.

Her efforts were bearing fruit. Her stamina had certainly improved. The toll on her body when her Quirk activated was lessened.

But Mizuha was starting to feel the pressure more than ever. Her high school career was at stake. Mizuha was beginning to believe she couldn't stay in U.A after all. Her Quirk wasn't like before, but she couldn't afford to waste any time. If she couldn't impress the other school or use her Quirk properly... then it was all over.

Attending secondary schools that had the Hero Course didn't sit well with her. She wouldn't be able to have advantages like the best schools. It was selfish. But she wanted to aim high.

Training was the only thing on her mind. It was hard and ruthless.

However, she wasn't foolish enough to overwork herself before the Sports Festival even started.

Mizuha changed her eating habits, which surprised both Kirishima and Byakuren. If what Kirishima was saying was true, then she needed to take care of herself better so that she wouldn't look so drained. Byakuren appreciated how she was now 'acting human' as he liked to call it.

* * *

Kirishima watched his classmates spar in front of him.

It was Kyouran who suggested that they should have a sparring session. It was a good idea since it was certainly possible that they could be facing off against other students in the Sports Festival in combat. Kirishima was quick to agree to his suggestion while Hyoumei took some time in giving her answer. She agreed nonetheless.

Hyoumei and Kyouran were at it in front of him.

Kyouran stepped back just in time to avoid her right fist. He then swooped down and knocked his leg against her feet causing her to fall down.

Hyoumei landed on her side with a groan.

The white haired boy grinned and stood up straight, "Alright, let's take a break!" He said while panting. He walked over to the fallen girl and held out a hand for her. She merely stared at it with a scowl and sat on her knees.

Sensing her refusal to his kind gesture, Kyouran shrugged and left her there.

Kyouran searched for his water bottle but noticed it wasn't there. He quickly told them he'd be back once he realized he had forgotten it in his bag. He instantly sped off towards the nearest entrance.

Kirishima looked away from his retreating form and with a small chuckle. The sounds of shoes brushing against ground made him return his attention in front of him. Hyoumei was brushing the back of her rear with an unhappy expression.

The fact that she looked a little upset about losing a sparring match amused him. He reached down to grab her water bottle and then held it out in front of him.

"Here." He offered.

Hyoumei looked up and stared at it his for a few seconds. She didn't register what he was doing right away until he gesticulated his hand. She rubbed the back of her neck and thanked him. She carefully took it from his hand and drank from her bottle without delay.

When she lowered the bottle away from her mouth and closed it, she saw Kirishima lift up his hand as if he was offering to take it off her hands too. Hyoumei awkwardly thanked him once more.

He merely smiled at her.

As Kirishima set down her bottle back on the ground, he remembered Kyouran's words.

 _"Yeah. She's totally different. She's really holding back. Mizuha only acts like this because she's pretty shy around new people. It's like a mask. I mean she is brave and you're also right about the caring part. Trust me, I've known her longer than you."_

The red head glanced at her as he pulled himself back up. She wasn't looking at him at all. She was staring blankly into the distance.

 _The red head leaned away from the table and had a conflicted look on his face, "... Well, now that you told me this... I think I need to see that for myself."_

 _Byakuren leaned back in his seat with a soft smile, "Well, just know that if you finally get to know her this way... it's not a bad thing."_

 _"Why is that?"_

 _"Because once you get past that second layer, you can see that genuine part of her that you call a nice girl."_

Kirishima's lips curved, "Hyoumei."

Hyoumei turned her head and looked at him. She didn't answer him with words but with her stare.

"How's your training going for the Sports Festival?" He asked hoping to strike an on going conversation with her.

"Um... it's going fine. I've been training everyday non-stop." She said with a slight chuckle at the end of her sentence.

Kirishima didn't want to tell her because he feared he might creep her out but he was actually aware of what she was doing in order to improve her Quirk. He actually followed her out of curiosity. At first, he found it odd that Kishokei was following her to the Conflagration Zone in USJ. The math teacher called him over and asked him what he was doing sneaking around. Kirishima answered him sheepishly and honestly.

Then he found out what she was doing, her training that susceptible to frostbite. That's why she was under surveillance when she trained.

Kirishima noticed her expression when she activated her Quirk. Every creation of ice was gazed upon by Hyoumei. Then her expression would twist in an unsatisfied manner, as if what she made wasn't impressive at all.

She was clearly aiming higher.

"Are you planning on winning the Sports Festival?" He asked tilting his head to the side.

Mizuha opened her mouth to give an answer but she quickly stopped herself. She wanted to answer him honestly, but she was hesitating.

Then it suddenly dawned on her. Why should it matter if she told him the truth? If she was being completely honest, she didn't have much faith in herself to believe that she could stay in U.A. She was leaning more towards the possibility of having better luck at another school.

 _Just tell him the truth. It doesn't matter anymore._

Mizuha sighed heavily before sitting down next to Kirishima. She sat cross-legged and propped her right elbow on her right knee, her face rested on her palm, "I might be changing school soon." She started.

Kirishima's eyes widened as he stared down at her. That was definitely not the answer he was expecting at all. He quickly sat down next to her, "What? Why?"

Mizuha picked up a small rock with her free hand and started rolling it around in the palm of her hand, "It was a deal I made with Aizawa-sensei. He told me that I could stay at U.A under one condition. I had to show him something at Sports Festival... I needed to show him something with my Quirk." She started tracing lines in the ground with the rock, "But I don't think I can show him what he wants..." She added.

"He's asking you to do something that you can't do? How does that make sense?"

"It makes perfect sense because I used to be able to do it before." She quickly explained before ceasing the movement of her left hand. "Apparently, the reason is because I don't have confidence in my abilities. That's what Recovery Girl told me when I went to go see her last week."

Mizhua tossed the rock in front of her and watched boringly as it landed afar. _And I thought visiting my brother was the solution. Of course it wasn't._

"Why didn't you ask any of us for help?" He frowned.

Mizuha glanced at him. "What?"

"If you can't do it by yourself then maybe you need someone to help you."

"No it's too late for that and I don't want to bother anyone with my problems." She shook her head and straightened up. "Especially Byakuren. I rely too much on him."

"Come on, there's nothing wrong in needing help! In fact, asking for help can be pretty manly!" He grinned.

Mizuha sweat dropped, _I'm a girl though..._

"But seriously, it's not too late to ask for help." He said with a more serious look.

He considered her to be his friend, and knowing that his friend was in a pinch like this. He really wanted to help her out. He didn't want her to change school. Not when he respected her, not when he was starting to understand her a little more.

Mizuha shook her head once again, "It's fine. I think I've already given up on the possibility of staying here. Now, I'm just hoping that my performance at the Sports Festival might help with my registration to a new school." She said with a shrug with eyes fixed on the small rock.

Kirishima furrowed his eyebrows, _She's already given up?_

"I'M BACK!"

Mizuha and Kirishima instantly looked at Byakuren who was running towards them and waving his water bottle in front of him.

Mizuha exhaled heavily before standing up, "Took you long enough." She spat with a sour tone. It was as if their conversation didn't even happen a few seconds ago. She completely changed her demeanor.

The only response she got was Byakuren tossing over his water bottle to her when he got a little closer. She caught it effortlessly then purposely dropped it on the ground without a second thought.

"Gahh! Mizuuhaa!"

"Don't throw stuff at me." She spoke casually before feebly nudging the bottle and letting it roll away to the side. Byakuren made several attempts to try and retrieve his bottle as it kept rolling away from his finger tips.

Kirishima got up on his feet and started contemplating his classmate while she chuckled at Byakuren.

With that small conversation, he was already certain of one thing. She was really holding back to the point where it's influencing her to give up.

* * *

 **Sorry for the lack of update! I had a serious case of writer's block, specifically for that last part of this chapter...**


	14. Chapter 14: A Bad Start

Eijin was dragging his desk chair towards the windows of the office. The wheels rolling across the tiled floor caught the attention of a particularly tired looking teacher in the office. He looked up from his papers and looked at the disturbance in the office.

Eijin was seated backwards with both of his forearms on his chair's backrest. He was using his legs to drag his chair across the office. And in his right hand was a half eaten sandwich.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes at his colleague, "Could you make anymore noise?" He spoke, voice muffled.

Eijin snorted, "Let me eat lunch the way I please, Eraser. Besides, I'm already at my destination." He said while directing his left hand at the large glass window in front of him.

Aizawa merely continued reviewing his papers.

The only teachers present in the teachers' office were the two Pro Heroes called Eraserhead and Joker. It was currently the lunch break and everyone was occupied in their own way. It was either with eating, training or working.

Kishoukei watched from his chair as students below trained for the Sports Festival.

The event was too important for anyone to miss, let alone slack off. A good performance catches the eye various Pro Heroes. It's true that whoever wins first place can definitely expect to have better options when choosing a hero agency for their training and experience. However, not making it to the finals is not a total loss either. Pro Heroes may see a certain potential in a student and might invite them to their agency.

Eijin thought about his niece and about what she told him on her first day of school.

Eijin ate the rest of his sandwich and turned his chair to look at Aizawa, "Eraser, were you actually serious about expelling Mizuha?"

Aizawa looked up and answered without missing a beat, "Yes. I'm not using the expulsion as motivation this time. I'm serious about expelling Hyoumei if she does not reach my expectations."

Eijin sighed, "Not even going to consider to at least bump her down to another department?" He asked but he wasn't expecting an answer.

"I expect everyone to do their best if they want to become a hero. Hyoumei may be serious about becoming one but something is holding her back from performing to my expectations." He said calmly while staring at Eijin.

Kishoukei sweat dropped. He knew Aizawa was known to expel students who he felt weren't suited for U.A High School but he obviously couldn't help but feel sorry for his niece.

"I assumed it was her brother's condition that was holding her back." Aizawa spoke after a small pause. "... But I'm starting to think that isn't it."

"No, she accepted what happened to Shiran." He stated, "It's just that seeing him makes her remember things." He added.

The dry eyed instructor nodded to himself. He opened up one of the drawers of his desk and began searching through the class 1-A students files for Mizuha's file. Once he found it, he pulled it out and opened it on his desk. Inside her file was a printed report of the incident she was involved in.

Eijin dragged his seat closer to his mummy-like colleague's desk and craned his neck upwards to try and see what his colleague had just pulled out.

Aizawa knew that students could be too shy to make friends and that they might find themselves alone. It was a normal thing that can occur with adolescents. But Hyoumei didn't exactly strike him as someone VERY shy. He had seen her act very differently when she was with Kyouran. It seemed like she was purposely distancing herself from others. She always pulled away from any conversation that her classmates made.

There was also Todoroki who acted the same way.

But Aizawa had discovered something that was different between them.

After seeing her avoid many interactions with others, he had decided to look up the incident that occurred five years ago by searching up the article. Apparently, Hyoumei was one of the six children who were present on the scene. She had been the only one along with Kyouran who were unharmed after the incident. The other four children were brought to the emergency room due to grievous injuries. They were all fortunate to have survived the ordeal.

When Recovery Girl came to see him about Hyoumei's visit to the nurse's office, he came to a new conclusion.

All he needed now was a little more information.

"Joker, the incident five years ago concerning both Hyoumeis. The other four children who were injured, were any of them friends with Hyoumei?"

Eijin nodded, "Yeah, all of them actually but she hasn't contacted any of them ever since. She's avoiding them."

Aizawa looked at the other Pro Hero, "And she hasn't made any other friends? Kyouran is the only friend she has?"

The platinum haired colored instructor raised an eyebrow, "Yeeees..." He drawled.

Hyoumei was stuck. She couldn't move on. She hasn't made any other friends after the incident five years ago. She doesn't want to interact with others unless it's necessary. Recovery Girl said she was holding back.

"Trauma..." Aizawa muttered.

"Hmm? What?"

"Hyoumei is afraid."

"Of course she's afraid. Who wants an incident like that to happen again?"

Despite his bandaged face, Aizawa was able to give him a deadpanned look, "You're her uncle. I'm surprised you don't know a lot about your niece."

An imaginary arrow struck Eijin's back. "Whaaa?"

* * *

It was the day before the U.A Sports Festival. It was after school and Mizuha was already planning on doing her final training session. For the past three days, she did her training outside and not inside the Conflagration Zone. Byakuren felt prepared for the event so he decided to finish his math homework and his English essay that were both due for after the event. He knew he was going to be too lazy to finish it after it so he just wanted to get it done and just do whatever he wanted. In fact, he left in a hurry.

Mizuha passed by Aizawa, who was reading papers, in the hallway.

When he realized who just past by him, he didn't look up from his papers but he said, "I don't think I need to remind you of what you need to show me."

Mizuha clenched her fists in annoyance, "I know." She said and continued walking.

* * *

Mizuha dropped down on ground next to her bag. She finally finished her training for the U.A Sports Festival, all she needed to do now was head home and get some rest.

She opened her bag and grabbed the water bottle that was warm much to her annoyance. She made a dozen of tiny ice cubes that could fit in the small hole. She wanted her water to be cold.

Just as she was about drink from it, she heard an explosion go off somewhere on the U.A campus. Mizuha jolted in surprise and spilled some of her water on her clothes.

"Damn it..." She muttered while frowning at the visible wet spots.

Then another explosion went off.

Curiously, Mizuha closed her water bottle, shoved it back inside her bag and then went to go search for the source of the explosions with her things. Then she remembered how she did something similar when it came to finding a certain arrogant Class 1-A student.

When the sound was clearer and wind actually blew in her direction, Mizuha peeked behind the corner of the building. There standing a little further away with fallen trees surrounding him was Bakugo.

She watched him knock down a couple of more trees with his explosions.

 _—DING!_

Mizuha turned around and started walking away as she started digging through her back in search of her phone. She pressed the home button and saw that Byakuren had just sent her a message.

 _[Byakuren Kyouran: hey i forgot my math notes at school. Do you have yours with you? Can I borrow?_

Mizuha laughed and shook her head.

 _[Mizuha Hyoumei: You dumbass. And yes I do have it._

 _[Byakuren Kyouran: shut up._

 _[Byakuren Kyouran: Alright, I'll pass by your house when you come home._

 _[Mizuha Hyoumei: Actually, my math notes are in my room. You can go inside my place and just grab them. You know where the key is._

 _[Byakuren Kyouran: imma do that._

 _[Byakuren Kyouran: And yes I know where they are._

 _[Byakuren Kyouran: Thanks. I'll give it to you tmrow after the Sports Festival._

 _[Mizuha Hyoumei: Yeah yeah._

Mizuha closed her phone and started getting ready to head home.

* * *

Byakuren whistled when he walked to Mizuha's house. He was hoping that her math homework was somewhere visible in her room so that he could just take pictures of her answers with his phone and finish his homework. He wasn't bad at math, it's just that he could get lazy.

Byakuren and Mizuha used to suck at math. But Mizuha got better at math when her mother registered her for Sunday math classes. It definitely helped her pull up her grade... maybe even too much. By the end of her two last years in elementary school, she already acquired math knowledge at a high school level.

She always insisted that he take the same math classes since he always passed his exams with his ass just above the fire. Eventually, after three years of persuading, he told his parents about it and they registered him into the same type of math class but at a different location.

He stopped taking them two-three years later when he realized got better at math. Byakuren was ahead in math by a year. And when Mizuha stopped taking them during her second year of middle school... she was even more advanced in math than anyone in her class.

When Byakuren arrived at Mizuha's house, he strode over to the front door and glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching him. Mizuha's parents kept a spare key hidden inside a wall near their door frame. Her father made a small hole in the wall for the spare key. It near the door frame and it was well hidden for many years. You would have to actually lift the lid yourself to remember where the spot was located.

Byakuren didn't want to be responsible for carelessly opening it while someone was watching him and then letting that person enter the Hyoumei household.

With a finger, he literally flicked open the lid and snatched the key from its hiding spot. Once he unlocked the door, he kept the key with him and entered her home.

The lights were closed, that meant that Mizuha's mother and father were still at work. He took off his shoes and made a beeline for his friend's room. He turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. He lightened up her room by flipping the light switch.

It took him only a second to spot her notebook on her desk. He grinned to himself. He took a large single step and quickly swiped it off of her desk.

Another notebook underneath the one he swiped fell on the floor. It fell open facing down.

"Whoops." Byakuren muttered and knelt down with one knee propped up. He picked it up by the front cover and then flipped it towards him.

Just as he was about to close it, his eyes widened and he opened it up and read the first page.

"What... what the fuck is this...?" He cursed with disbelief. He started flipping the first few pages when he sat down on her floor.

The pages were filled with plans to change school, dates for late registrations, requirements for admissions and many more. The latest page even had the words 'FIND A SCHOOL QUICKLY AFTER U.A SPORTS FESTIVAL' written on the whole page.

Byakuren tossed her notebook away from him and slammed his fist on the wooden floor. He gritted his teeth, ran his free hand in his white hair and furrowed his eyebrows.

He knew about her expulsion. He still remembered the way she came out while shaking after she was told to see Aizawa in the teachers' office after school. She was stumbling over her own words. Mizuha told him she was going to figure it out on her own. He should have known that she was starting to give up when she never visited her brother at the hospital again. He thought she was doing her best and that she was finally getting better. He thought he was helping her.

No matter how much help he provided for her. It was never going to work if she wasn't going to her job and help herself.

Byakuren wordlessly stood up and picked up the notebook he had just tossed. He set it down back on the desk and exited her room without her math notes.

 _That's enough hand holding. I'm done._

* * *

 **THE DAY OF THE U.A SPORTS FESTIVAL**

Todoroki had just declared war against Midoriya.

Mizuha, who was sitting at the table that Byakuren, Sero, Kaminari and Kirishima occupied, pursed her lips.

"Wooow..." She drawled while whispering. She looked at Byakuren with a small grin, "Anyone _you_ wanna declare war on?" She said with a teasing tone for only his ears to hear.

Byakuren ignored her. He had his elbow propped up on the table and his cheek rested in his hand. He just followed Todoroki, who was walking away from Midoriya, with his eyes. He didn't even spare her a glance.

Mizuha deflated. _What's up with him? He's been ignoring me since we got here..._

She sighed and sat properly in her chair, "Okay, what the hell is your problem?!" She hissed.

Byakuren slammed down his hand very loudly and scared Kaminari in the process.

"What the hell dude?!" Kaminari yelped.

Byakuren glared at Mizuha, "You're my fucking problem! You're a damn coward!" He shouted.

He couldn't keep what he found out bottled up inside any longer.

Everyone was now looking at the duo. It was now deathly quiet. They were all surprised to hear Byakuren in such a manner since he usually had this kind demeanor.

Mizuha was speechless. He really didn't look like he was messing with her right now. He looked very angry and seeing him angry was very, very rare. She somehow felt smaller now that he raised his voice.

"... What? Can... can you stop attracting attention?" She squeaked while blushing heavily in embarrassment.

Byakuren shot up from his seat and stared down at her, "I saw that notebook in your room. You would rather get expelled than face the problem and fix that Quirk of yours! I know you're planning on changing schools! Hell, I don't think you deserve to be here at all! You're not here for Pro Heroes. You're here to try and get accepted into another school!"

Iida quickly closed the door, "Kyouran! Please calm down! This isn't the time to start fighting!"

"Did he just say expel?" Uraraka whispered to Midoriya.

"Who is expelling her?" Midoriya wondered.

Ashido frowned, she was not liking the situation, "I think this is about to turn ugly..." She murmured.

"Someone should stop them!" Hagakure flailed her invisible arms.

Kirishima looked at Mizuha with worry, _You didn't tell him you were planning on changing schools?_

The platinum haired girl glared at the white haired boy, "What the hell?! You said you needed my math notes! Who gave you the right to look into that! You had no right! That's not your business, Byakuren!" She yelled and nearly made her chair fall backwards by how fast she stood up.

"You went to Recovery Girl to ask for some help. She said you were holding back! And what did you do?! NOTHING!"

Mizuha paused for a moment as his words played back in her mind.

 _"Where did you go?"_

 _Mizuha shrugged and took her seat next to Kirishima, she no longer minded about the red head sitting next to her._

 _She looked at her pseudo brother and saw him breathing heavily through his nose while he chewed his food. He avoided her stare and continued indulging himself in his food._

 _Mizuha exhaled deeply, growing more curious by the second. Why the hell did he look like he just came back from P.E?_

 _"What's up with you?"_

 _"Hm?"_

 _"You're panting."_

 _"No, I'm not."_

 _"Yes you are."_

 _"No."_

When she pieced everything together, her face turned dark.

"THAT CONVERSATION WAS NOT FOR YOU TO HEAR!" She shouted, fuming.

Sero, Kaminari, Iida, Kirishima and Yaoyorozu were all around them trying to get them to calm down.

"You're too scared and that's been clouding everything!"

"Shut up!" she snarled.

"Please! You two! That's enough!" Yaoyorozu tried to block their view from each other with Iida. But they just kept going at it.

"Your brother would be so fucking disappointed in you!"

Iida placed his hands on Byakuren's shoulders and told him to stop talking vulgarly. Byakuren merely slapped his hands off of his shoulders.

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

"I'VE BEEN TRYING TO HELP YOU ALL THIS TIME!"

Mizuha laughed darkly, "Ha! And you've just been wasting your goddamn time haven't you? Poor you."

Byakuren growled and he practically shoved Yaoyorozu and Iida out of his way. He lunged at her, grabbing the front of her shirt. Mizuha pulled back her fist as soon as he grabbed her shirt.

Kirishima and Sero were quick to pull the two away from each other. They both restrained them by putting their arms under theirs. Kirishima was with Mizuha and Sero was with Byakuren. Both of them were breathing heavily while staring at each other.

"Whoa whoa! Okay, Kyouran! You can't hit her!" Sero quickly spoke.

"Come on. You guys shouldn't fight, you're friends!" Kirishima pleaded in attempt to cease their argument.

Byakuren ripped himself out of Sero's hold and turned away, "No we're not. I'm done. I'm not going to waste anymore of my time. She's not worth it." He huffed before leaving Class 1-A's waiting room.

Followed by Bakugo who was annoyed from all the drama that was going on.

Everyone was now looking at Mizuha. They didn't know how far their friendship went back but they knew that the two were very close to each other. No one knew how to react as they registered the event that just occurred. A friendship just shattered right before them.

Kirishima felt Mizuha slump in his hold. He quickly sat her down back on her chair and lowered himself down to her eye level. As good as she might be for keeping on her usual blank expressions, he could see the hurt in her eyes. She was staring blankly at him without a word.

"Hyoumei...?" Kirishima asked while searching for her attention. "Are you okay?"

She blinked slowly. Then her eyes were now making real contact with his.

Mizuha opened her mouth, "Go away. Stop acting like we're friends because we're not. We never were. You're the one that's been forcing a friendship to exist. I never wanted that." She spoke casually void of emotion.

Kirishima's eyes widened in shock and then he stood up straight. Her eyes no longer looked hurt, in fact there was nothing.

 _ **"All students, please head to the the stage. The U.A Sports Festival is about to commence."**_

Mizuha got up from her chair without a word and walked past Kirishima as if nothing happened. She opened the door and left it open behind her when she walked to the stage.

Kaminari was the one to first speak up, "Man... that was awful..."

* * *

 **Alright. Finally! I've been dying to destroy their friendship xD**

 **Much like Todoroki, the U.A Sports Festival will serve as a vehicle for Mizuha's character development!**


	15. Chapter 15: UA Sports Festival I

"Tenran! Would you get over here! The U.A Sports Festival is about to start!" Mizuki hollered from the living room with the television remote in her hand.

Tenran sweat dropped and tried to hurry pouring himself a glass of water, "Hold on! Give me a sec!"

"Our daughter is about to be on TV! WE ARE NOT GOING TO MISS THIS! NOW HURRY UP AND SIT!"

He startled and quickly ran to the living room while trying to not spill his drink. Spilling his drink on the floor would only make his situation worse.

He sat down on the couch next to his wife and placed his glass on the coffee table, "Alright, alright. I'm here."

Mizuki shoved her hand in Tenran's face, "SHHH! It's starting!"

Tenran rolled his eyes and reached for his glass. _I can always watch the playback since you're recording everything..._

 **"It's U.A's Sports Festival! The one time each year when our fledgling heroes compete in a ruthless grand battle! Anyway, these are the guys, right? The miraculous rising stars who brushed off a villain attack with their hearts of steel! Hero Course, Class 1-A, right?!"**

All of Class 1-A began marching towards the stage as the audience cheered for them. Mizuki wasted no time in spotting her daughter.

"There she is! Look!" Mizuki pointed at the TV with a beaming smile on her face. Without looking away from the screen, she was vigorously shaking her husband's shoulder to emphasize her excitement.

Tenran sipped his water.

 **"They haven't been getting much airtime, but this class is also full of talent! Hero Course, Class 1-B! Next up, general studies Classes C, D, and E! Support Course, Classes F, G, and are here, too! And business course, Classes I, J, and K! All of U.A's first years are here now!"**

 _—RIIIING!_

Mizuki whipped her head back towards the kitchen at the sound of her phone's ringtone, "What is this madness?!" She growled.

Tenran leaned away from her by moving closer to the other end of his seat, "... Why don't you go answer it...?" He suggested innocently.

Mizuki stomped towards the kitchen and glared at her ringing phone. She snatched it off of the table and answered the phone without looking at the caller, "WHAT?!"

The cameras focused on Midnight as she stood on the stage in her... dominatrix-like attire. Tenran tilted his head to the side, "Isn't she one of Mizuha's teachers? Is it really okay for Midnight to be teaching at a school? She's the R-Rated Hero..."

"TENRAN!"

Said man jumped in his seat and spilled his water on his shirt and a bit on his lap, "Wh-What?!"

"We're leaving!" Mizuki said while grabbing her purse off of the counter. She was heading straight for the front door.

"I don't think she's going to let me change..." Tenran muttered when stood up and looked at his clothes, "Can you at least tell me where we're going?" He asked when he looked for the his car key.

"The hospital!"

* * *

"Quiet, everyone!" Midnight exclaimed, "Representing the students is Bakugo Katsuki and Hyoumei Mizuha from Class 1-A!"

Coincidentally, both students were standing next to each other.

"Will one of you please come up to do the pledge?"

Mizuha shoved her hands in her pockets, "Go ahead. I ain't moving from here."

It didn't matter what she wanted to do since Bakugo was already on his way to the stage before she said anything.

"What? It's Kacchan and Hyoumei?"

Midoriya was whipping his head back and forth to look at Bakugo and Mizuha.

Mizuha just stared blankly at the stage.

"They both _did_ finish first in the entrance exam." Sero reminded.

 _Then a score board appeared in front of her._

 _Mizuha jumped away from her seat and gaped at the score board. That's just not possible... I am in first place?! No, no, no, no they probably made a mistake!_

 _"Congratulations, Mizuha Hyoumei. You pass. Welcome to U.A High School! We hope to see you in spring!" With that, the projection video ended._

Everyone fell silent when Bakugo stood in front of the mic. Anyone who wasn't a Class 1-A student could already predict what kind of pledge their classmate was going to be. It wasn't going to be a normal one.

"I pledge... That I'll be number one."

Mizuha dropped her head forward, _Good grief._

Immediately, everyone starting protesting to his pledge. They were all shouting, shaking their fists in the air, giving thumbs down and booing.

"What the heck?!"

"Stop messing around!"

"Stop being so full of yourself!"

"Don't get cocky, Class A!"

"Why must you show contempt for the dignity of this event?!" Iida scolded angrily.

Mizuha sighed, "Great. Now, everyone hates us." She muttered.

Bakugo turned around, "You'll all make great stepping-stones, I'd say." he answered the crowd with a thumbs down, adding fuel to fire.

"Overconfident jerk!" yelled a male student. Mizuha recognized him as that one Class 1-B student that was shouting at their door two weeks ago, "I'll be the one to crush him!"

Midnight then announced that the first game would now be revealed, "Every year, many drink their tears here! Now, here is the fateful first game! This year it's..."

The screen behind Midnight had the words OBSTACLE RACE on it.

"This! It's a race between every member of all eleven classes! The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium— about four kilometers! Our school's selling point is freedom. As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do! Now, take your places everyone!"

All the first year students gathered in front of the stadium's exit.

Mizuha scowled at the tunnel in front of her. It was obvious that once the race begun, everyone would be packed in there like sardines.

 _If I can get ahead of everyone the moment we start... I can avoid getting stuck in there. I can make a path of ice that can swirl against the walls... yeah that should work. It'll also cause the others to lose their footing._

Mizuha shimmied her way to the front on the line.

 _Deep breaths... be confident. Do your best._

...

...

...

"START!"

With a burst of adrenaline, Mizuha leaped forward and created an ice path behind her. She swirled against the walls while leaving a short ice path at the start of the tunnel. As she did so, she felt the wind rush past her, telling her that was moving pretty fast. Then she was literally propelled out of the tunnel.

As soon as she landed on her feet, she grinned and ran, "YES!"

Just as planned, she was ahead of the others who were all struggling to get out of the tunnel.

Suddenly she felt a chill. It was a chill that was telling her that the presence of ice was approaching her from behind. Fast.

 _This sort of presence... Where have I felt it before...?_

Then it dawned to her.

Mizuha clicked her tongue, "Damn it. It's Todoroki!"

She looked over her shoulder and saw him running up behind her. An ice path was left behind him, freezing students in their tracks, stopping those who were even out of the tunnel.

He was catching up to her.

 _I can't stay ahead... He's going to do everything he can to get ahead of me! I need to do this tactically!_

Not wanting to risk finding herself in the same state as those behind her, she had no choice but to slow down. She slowed down enough for Todoroki to get past her, allowing him freeze the trail in front of her. Just before he past her, she jumped up and watched as the concrete below her got covered with ice.

It was a good thing she knew how to keep her balance on ice.

With no sign of stopping, Mizuha ran on his ice trail with confidence.

Mizuha was making sure that she was keeping up with Todoroki's pace while running behind him.

When she turned around the corner, she saw something. It became obvious what it was when she got closer to it.

 _This is the first obstacle? Robots from the entrance exam?_

She spotted a gigantic robot about to swing at her. Refusing to stop, she ducked as low as possible and avoided the attack, successfully keeping up with her classmate despite almost loosing her balance.

Mizuha skidded to a stop once she realized more of them were blocking the way. The boy in front also stopped running.

 **"Every obstacle course needs obstacles! Starting with... the first barrier! Robo Inferno!"**

Mizuha looked at the many giant robots blocking the path. The only way past them was under them, over them or to defeat them.

From behind, she felt Todoroki about to do something. That was enough to make up her decision, Mizuha dragged one foot back and bent her knees a bit.

"Well, I'm not wasting my time." She muttered.

Instantly, she slid across the floor thanks to another path of ice, she went straight for the opening underneath the Robo Infernos.

Todoroki narrowed his eyes at her. She was getting ahead of him again. It certainly didn't help that she also had an Ice Quirk, having an advantage when it came to moving on it. However, he wasn't about to let her get further away.

"Ahh! Is she nuts?!"

"What is Hyoumei doing?!" Kaminari gaped.

The Robo Infernos targeted her and each of them aimed at her with its hands. Mizuha ducked many times as she drifted to sides to avoid their reach. Her path was accurately directed as she zig-zagged past the robots. It kinda looked like she was surfing.

 _Just a little further..._

She dodged the last robot and then launched herself away from their reach. Mizuha landed on the ground while rolling over.

 **"Wow! 1-A's Hyoumei actually made it through by dodging! What a crazy move! But with such accuracy!"**

Mizuha started running again.

She felt the ground shake beneath her.

 **"Todoroki from Class 1-A busted through! He attacked and defended in one hit! Both Ice Quirk users are now in the lead!"**

* * *

Onyx orbs fixed the screen in front of them.

"That girl..." They whispered with a hoarse voice.

 **"Wow! 1-A's Hyoumei actually made it through by dodging! What a crazy move! But with such accuracy!"**

Realizing the identity of the girl displayed on TV, their eyes widened and their lips parted slightly.

"No way..."

* * *

Mizuha gasped and slowed her pace when she saw the next obstacle. A canyon that had to be crossed with the help of tight ropes. She looked down and scowled.

 _Okay... what happens if you fall? Is there a never ending fall? A cushion?_

She didn't even notice Todoroki get past her until she saw something move in her peripheral vision when she stared down.

"Shit!" She freaked.

 _Mizuha shrugged, she crouched down and slammed her hands on the ground. She activated her Quirk beneath her feet, a cold air swirled around them before she launched herself forward and into the air. A giant pillar of ice was all that was left when she left the concrete._

She nearly slapped herself for not thinking about that move sooner.

A giant ice pillar formed and launched her into the air and she flew with great speed. She was actually flying over everything.

Mizuha panicked. She wasn't going to reach the other side properly! In fact, she was heading straight for the gap!

She literally slammed onto the edge, "GAH!" she wheezed after getting the wind knocked out of her.

Her hands hastily grabbed onto the edge of the gorge. She didn't even dare look down while trying to pull herself up.

Glancing behind her shoulder, she noticed how students were starting to catch up to her. She even spotted Bakugo practically flying above the canyon thanks to his explosions.

"Not so fast!"

 _Hecks nah!_ She thought as soon as she started running again when Bakugo started catching up. _I need to make it into the top five, at least!_

* * *

 _Are you kidding me?! LANDMINES?!_

Mizuha picked up a small rock and then tossed it a meter away from her. It landed on one of the hidden landmines which exploded the moment it made contact.

She breathed in and started to carefully make her way through the obstacle. Todoroki was already way ahead of her now and Bakugo was...

Suddenly, Bakugo zoomed past her.

... ahead of her.

Mizuha's eye twitched, _Damn it!_

She accelerated her pace while still being careful to not trigger any landmines. By the sound of people screaming and explosives going off in the back, getting bumped down was the last thing she wanted.

 **"Class A's Bakugo has taken Hyoumei's place in the lead! Rejoice, mass media, 'cause it's the kind of development you guys love! Hey, hey, hey the rest of pack is also speeding up! Even as they push and pull at each other, can the two at the top remain in the lead?!"**

She couldn't believe that the two in front of her could fight each other for first place... literally. How were they avoiding the landmines and still attacking each other?!

Mizuha needed to get close enough to them to secure her place as third!

She gulped when she looked at the landmines ahead of her.

She shut her eyes tightly and formed an ice pillar beneath her. Her ice shot her in the air and she was actually getting closer to the two boys ahead of her. When she predicted the area of her landing, she created several ice blocks in her hands and threw there.

In a heartbeat, her vision was clouded by pink smoke from the landmines she triggered.

She landed while stumbling.

 **"Look at that everyone! Hyoumei is still going strong! She's catching up to her classmates!"**

Thankfully, she was almost at the end of the obstacle. Landmines were becoming less.

She accelerated, hoping the catch up with the two teenagers just ahead of her. An explosion in the back shook the ground, causing Mizuha and the two boys to stop and look back. Shooting out of giant pink smoke, was a familiar green haired student.

Mizuha's jaw dropped, "M-Midoriya?"

 **"Class A's Midoriya is in hot pursuit with that blast!"**

When she realized that he just flew above her head and past her, she bolted after him before Todoroki and Bakugo.

 _Crazy kid!_

She created an ice path in front of her and ran across it. She didn't have time to waste on carefully avoiding the mines.

 **"Amazing! Midoriya's in the lead, with Hyoumei right behind him! The two formerly in the lead have stopped trying to slow each other down and are chasing Midoriya too!"**

Unfortunately, when Mizuha caught up to Midoriya, the other two boys also did. She ran in between Todoroki and Midoriya. Her green haired classmate was still in the air next to her. She glanced at him and gasped when she saw him swinging the scrap of metal onto the landmines.

The three of them halted as the blast went off, sending Midoriya even further away.

Mizuha could hear Midoriya running ahead. Not bothering to waste time on thinking how he even landed on his feet, she quickly rushed out of the pink smoke and ran after the current first place in the race.

 _Freakin' kid is insane! He's lucky that these mines aren't designed to kill us!_

Once they entered the entrance of the tunnel, Mizuha refused to let up now that she was this close to finishing. However, the two boys that were previously behind her was now catching up and getting past her.

Mizuha got even more fired up to finish the race when Present Mic announced Midoriya as the winner.

Todoroki was now ahead of Bakugo and Mizuha.

 _Heeeeh?_

Feeling a little evil, Mizuha gathered enough energy to sprint to the end.

She was going to let Todoroki take second place.

But Bakugo...

Just as she past by the arrogant teenager, she glanced back in his direction with a smirk, "Suck it!"

Bakugo growled, "HAAH?!"

 _YOU CAN TAKE FOURTH PLACE! JERK!_

Right when Todoroki finished second, Mizuha ended up in third place by leaping forward. Winning third place in a fraction of a second.

Mizuha tumbled and rolled over and then found herself in a sitting position on the grass. Feeling a little dazed, she wobbled back up to her feet.

Eijin, who was sitting next to Snipe, threw his arms in the air, "LET'S GO! MY NIECE GOT THIRD PLACE!" He cheered.

Snipe stared at him with annoyance, "Must you yell so loudly?"

Eijin lowered his arms and smirked, "My family is in this event, I'll cheer as much as I want."

 **"And now they're all finishing one after another! We'll make a list of the results later, but for now, good work!"**

Mizuha got up from the grass and walked slowly while panting. Working on her stamina was definitely a wise decision.

When she was catching her breath, she thought back at the moment where she goaded Bakugo near the end of the race.

 _... Did I seriously do that?_

She couldn't help it. Her lips curved at the memory. It was such a quick moment but it meant so much to her. After five years of pretending, it just felt so good to act normally, even if it was brief.

It just felt so normal.

Mizuha paused in her walk, _It felt like... I was lighter._

 _... I didn't even realize how heavy it felt to keep a mask. That moment... it felt like nothing mattered, it felt like I didn't have to worry about anything at all._

Byakuren finished the race, panting heavily.

He placed his hands on his hips and looked up at the sky. The last part of the race really had him running like crazy. Everyone was determined to finish as soon as possible in order to make it through whatever was coming next.

"Phew." Byakuren rolled his shoulders back and looked in front of him.

He immediately frowned.

Mizuha was just standing there looking at the ground with a blank look on her face.

 _The hell is up with her?_

He couldn't believe that she finished the race with Bakugo and Todoroki.

Byakuren huffed and started walking towards the stage, where Midnight was calling them.

* * *

"The first game of the first-year stage is finally over. Now, take a look at the results!"

On the screen then appeared the face of Izuku as the first rank. Followed by Todoroki in second, Mizuha in third and Bakugo in fourth.

Mizuha, feeling an immense satisfaction, glanced at Bakugo. He was wearing the same look on his face as his profile on the screen. An annoyed and pissed off face.

Mizuha chuckled to herself before looking back at the screen behind Midnight. Her mood made an one-eighty when she was a certain white haired boy's face on the screen. He was grinning while posing with a finger gun under his chin. He was ranked twenty-fifth.

 _Great, he's still in it._

"The top forty-four from this qualifying round will move on!" Midnight announced, "It's unfortunate, but don't worry even if you didn't make it! We've prepared other chances for you to shine. Now, the competition begins next! The press cavalry will be all over it! Give it your all! Now, then, here is the second game. I already know what it is, but what could..."

Mizuha blocked out Midnight's unnecessary commentary and kept her eyes focused on the screen in anticipation.

The screen then had the words CAVALRY BATTLE on it.

Mizuha cringed, _I was bad at that during gym classes... it was so annoying. I wonder how hectic it's going to be now that Quirks are involved..._

"Allow me to explain," Midnight continued. "The participants can form teams of two to four people, as they wish. It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but the one the different is… based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value. The points assigned go up by five starting from the bottom! So, forty-second place gets five points, forty-first gets ten points, and so on and so on… until the first place, which point value is… ten million!"

Mizuha's eyebrows shot up. She knew who got first place and she knew everyone had their eyes on him. She could practically feel everyone's greed in the air behind her.

"During the game, it'll be a cruel fight where you can use your Quirks. However! It is still a cavalry battle. You'll get a red card for attacks that are trying to make people fall off and you'll be removed immediately! And now… you have fifteen minutes to make your teams! Start!"

As everyone began looking for a team, Mizuha stayed rooted in her spot. She was looking at the screen, specifically the amount of points she had.

 _Two hundred, huh?_

She timidly glanced behind her shoulder, no one was around her. It didn't really surprise her. First, Class 1-A was hated by the majority of the participants thanks to Bakugo's little plead. And second, knowing how Bakugo was the best student in their class, everyone wanted to be with him.

She even saw Kirishima with him.

Mizuha sighed, _I doubt he'd want to team up with me... not after what I said._

 _"Hyoumei...?" Kirishima asked while searching for her attention. "Are you okay?"_

 _She blinked slowly. Then her eyes were now making real contact with his._

 _Mizuha opened her mouth, "Go away. Stop acting like we're friends because we're not. We never were. You're the one that's been forcing a friendship to exist. I never wanted that." She spoke casually void of emotion._

Mizuha frowned. She wasn't wrong either. He did act way too friendly. Could he even see that she didn't want to get close to him?

"No use dwelling on it now..." She muttered.

"What are you doing, go start looking for a team." Midnight spoke, effectively snapping Mizuha out of her thoughts.

Mizuha jolted, "R-Right..."

She turned around and aimlessly walked towards the other participants.

 _I don't even know if people from my Class would join up with me... I'm sure Midoriya is struggling with finding a team thanks to that ten million. And I don't want to be on the team that everyone is targeting in the game... I should probably play it a little safer to secure a good spot for the next part of the tournament._

 _The only person I can think of that has a Quirk that suits this strategy... is Byakuren._

She scratched the back of her head in annoyance.

Mizuha spotted him among those who were very eager to team up with Bakugo.

 _Forget the fight for now, this is more important._

Swallowing her bitterness, she marched over to Byakuren from behind and reached for his shoulder. But she stopped mid-way and decided to call him instead.

"...H-Hey!"

Byakuren stopped talking and turned around with an uninterested look on his face.

"Huh? Hyoumei? What do you want?"

Mizuha wanted to roll her eyes, _Wow, okay. We're back on the last name? Alright, fine._

"Team up with me, Kyouran." She practically demanded.

Byakuren scowled, "Haaa? Why would I team up with you? That's the last thing I want." He spat.

Mizuha's right eye twitched, "Yeah and this attitude you have is the last thing you need, if you want to qualify for the finals. You know as well as I do that our teamwork can be the best if you and I work together. This Cavalry Battle is not what we're here for. And, you know that I'm right." deadpanned Mizuha.

Byakuren stared at her. She could tell that she was starting to convince him, she just needed one final push.

Mizuha smirked, "Heroes must cooperate with each other no matter the circumstances. If you choose not to, you might jeopardize yourself and those around you. If you don't cooperate with me, knowing how good our teamwork might be... aren't you displaying a non-heroic value? So Kyouran, what's it gonna be?"

They both knew she was correct. This game can determine whether or not someone is willing to set aside personal issues. A quality that is needed for Heroes.

No words were exchanged between them as Byakuren registered her words.

Mizuha held out her hand, "So?"

Byakuren then smirked darkly, "You just might regret bringing me to the finals."

He shook her hand as a sign of truce, gripping her hand with much force.

Mizuha supported the same dark look on her face, "That's a risk I'm willing to live with."


	16. Chapter 16: UA Sports Festival II

Mizuha screamed loudly, "WE'RE FALLING!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, HYOUMEI!" Byakuren yelled as they dangerously approached the ground.

 **"What's this?! Team Hyoumei is now falling down from the sky!"**

...

...

...

* * *

Byakuren walked next to her as they got away from Bakugo's crowd. He shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced at her, "So, what do you have in mind?"

Mizuha looked at him with a finger held up in front of her, "I propose that you should be the rider. If I'm the horse then we can easily maneuver our way across with my ice. You can use your tornadoes to add speed to it... kind of like Iida's Engine."

Byakuren nodded slowly, "Okay... who else is going to carry me then?"

Mizuha lowered her hand and shrugged, "Others might slip on the ice if we move too fast, so I was thinking that it should be just the two of us."

Byakuren deadpanned.

"What?"

"Plan is good, sure. But aren't you forgetting something?"

"... What?"

"You _can't_ carry me, especially by yourself."

Mizuha was about to retort until she looked at Byakuren's height. She was only 160 centimeters while he was 175 centimeters... If she were to carry him, then the balance would be way off. She was even sure that she wouldn't be able to stand up straight, especially with all the moving their going to have to do.

 _... Right... didn't think that far._

The white haired boy sighed in annoyance, "Jeez, I know that Midnight said we can form teams with two to four participants... but think logically. However, I can agree with the fact that our other possible teammates might not be able to handle the ice..."

Byakuren put his hand under his chin and closed his eyes.

Mizuha stared at his face.

This was the habit he had when he was thinking of a strategy. He would either close his eyes and tap his temple with his index finger or put his hand under his chin while keeping his eyes closed. With that strategic mind of his, if he had a enough time, he could come up with five different strategies with a good visualization to back it up. He would play the scenarios in his mind as many times as possible with all the possible outcomes until it was all narrowed down to one.

After a minute, she saw him slowly open his eyes.

Byakuren lowered his hand, "We can reverse our positions. I'll be the horse and you can be the rider. If you sit on my shoulders and freeze your legs on my body, then it should free me of the task to make sure you don't fall off."

Mizuha frowned, "... what about my upper body? Any sudden movements is going to make me swing in different directions."

"My tornadoes will support us from behind and occasionally in the front to keep our balance in check. If we do it this way, we can easily do what you suggested earlier."

Mizuha couldn't help but feel a little concerned for her safety. But since this strategy came from Byakuren, she figured it should be alright to trust him with her safety.

They received the headband with 290 points. Mizuha tied the headband around her head with a double knot, she wanted to make sure it was going to be difficult for others to snatch it off her head.

 **"After fifteen minutes to form teams and talk strategy, fourteen cavalry teams are lined up on the field! It's time for U.A.'s bloody battle!"**

Byakuren lowered himself in front of Mizuha, "Alright, get on."

Mizuha breathed in deeply and slowly breathed out. She just needed to trust him now. She placed her hands on Byakuren's head and slowly allowed herself to sit on his shoulders. He grabbed her thighs and stood up abruptly, jolting her properly on his shoulders.

Then, he patted her legs.

Byakuren tilted his head to the left side when she reached for her right leg with her right arm to trap her limbs against his person, and vice-versa.

Suddenly, Byakuren dipped backwards causing Mizuha to fall back.

"OH MY GOD!" She yelled in fear. Suddenly, she felt a wind pressure that immediately push her back forward. She fearfully grabbed a fist full of Byakuren's white hair who started wincing.

"... Warn me before you do that."

"I don't exactly have time to warn you during the battle, now do I? And can you stop pulling my hair every time you fall? I won't have any hair left if you keep doing that."

When the screen displayed Team Hyoumei on the screen, Eijin could only stare with amusement.

Byakuren was standing straight with his hands next to him while Mizuha was sitting on his shoulders with her legs encased in ice on his body.

"What on earth are those two doing...?" He managed to stay between his laughs, "You look ridiculous!"

 **"Alright, all teams are made! I'm not going to ask if you're ready or not! Now let's go, counting down to the brutal battle royal! Three!"**

"We'll go for those who are trying to take Midoriya's ten million. It's the perfect distraction." Byakuren said while looking at the other teams lined up on the other sides of the field.

 **"Two!"**

"Alright, fine."

 **"One!"**

"Get that ice path ready because we're going for the team in front of us."

 **"Start!"**

The moment Mizuha formed an ice path in front of them, Byakuren's tornado pushed both of them forward at an incredible speed. He wasn't even moving his legs, he was allowing the wind and the ice to guide him.

The team in front of them became alarmed at the sudden attack. It was another group of two. The rider was a male student with a green mohawk and the horse was a pony looking girl.

The opposing team advanced towards their attack in hopes to snatch their headband.

"Hyoumei! Curve!"

The ice patch swirled ahead behind the other team. Byakuren twisted his body to the side, causing his body to turn round and slide against the ice backwards and allowing Mizuha to snatch the headband from behind.

She reached her arm out and grabbed one of the ends of the headband as they swirled away from them, successfully taking away the 70 point headband.

 _360 points! Alright!_

"Did you get it?!"

"Yeah!"

As they continued the hunt for points, the two made sure to steer away from Midoriya, Todoroki and Bakugo. The latter was definitely out of the question to approach.

They managed to steal another headband getting a total of three hundred sixty points.

Suddenly, they felt the presence of four teams heading their way.

Mizuha gripped the headbands around her neck and whipped her head in all directions to try and find a way out.

"What's the hold up?!" Byakuren shouted, "Hurry up! They're closing in!"

"I can't! The gaps are too small! They might take one of our headbands!"

Byakuren huffed and bit his lip. He needed to think of something quickly.

...

...

...

"Make an ice slide going upwards!"

Without even thinking, Mizuha did as she was told. Then she had a confused look on her face, _Why going up?_

"Hold on tight!" Byakuren warned.

"Wait! What are you _—"_

A giant tornado manifested behind them and pushed towards the ice slide. Mizuha's heart dropped when she realized what was going to happen. The moment Byakuren's shoes touched the inclination of the ice slide, the tornado pushed them upwards, sending them flying into the air.

Present Mic and Aizawa watched with widened eyes as Team Hyoumei flew up, past their window.

You'd think they were trying out some acrobatic routine.

They flew up so high that they nearly past the open roof of the stadium. However, the moment they started loosing momentum, Mizuha felt dread crash into her being.

... They started falling down... twice as fast.

Mizuha screamed loudly, "WE'RE FALLING!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, HYOUMEI!" Byakuren yelled as they dangerously approached the ground.

 **"What's this?! Team Hyoumei is now falling down from the sky!"**

"YOU BETTER MAKE ANOTHER ICE SLIDE BEFORE WE LAND OR ELSE WE'RE GOING STRAIGHT TO THE HOSPITAL!"

"YOU'RE NUTS! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"

"SHUT UP AND MAKE IT!"

Mizuha grabbed another fist full of white hair and narrowed her eyes. She held out her right hand and prepared to use her Quirk. Once they were a meter away from the ground, Mizuha formed an ice slide. Despite landing on the ice with his feet, they were still moving fast.

 **"Phew... for a second I thought we were going to have a problem... Geez Eraser, what are you teaching your class?"**

 **"I certainly did not teach near-death techniques."**

Now, they were heading straight for another team.

Using their incredible speed to their advantage, Mizuha continued the ice path all the way to the other team and grabbed their 290 point headband.

Byakuren crouched down and drifted against the field to stop moving.

He angrily shook his head, "Let go of my hair!"

Mizuha rolled her eyes and did as she was told, and waved the headband in front of his face before placing it around her neck.

"Nice. How many points do we have?"

"Six hundred sixty-five."

Snipe looked at his fellow teacher, "Are you alright?"

Eijin, who was slumped in seat and keeping a hand on his rapidly beating heart, shook his head.

"No, I think my lifespan has been reduced."

* * *

 **"TIME'S UP! And that's the end of the second round, the cavalry battle, everyone! Now, let's take a look at the top six teams right away!"**

Byakuren froze in his tracks, nearly slamming his head against Mizuha's abdomen.

The white haired boy shattered the case trapping Mizuha's legs and lowered himself to the ground. Mizuha carefully got off of his shoulders and watched as he stood back up, rolled back his shoulders and walked away from her.

 _And with that... we're back to ignoring each other._

 **"In first place, Team Todoroki! In second, Team Bakugo! In third, Team Tetsu...huh?! Wait** **, Team Shinso? When did you come from behind? In fourth, Team Hyoumei... that was dangerous you guys..."**

Mizuha sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

 **"In fifth, Team Mokuen! In fourth place, Team Midoriya!"**

 **"These four teams will advance… to the final round! And now, we'll take an hour's break for lunch before we start the afternoon festivities! See ya later! Hey, Eraser Head, let's go grab some food."**

 **"I'm going to sleep."**

At that, the crowd and the students began leaving the stadium for the lunch break.

"... I'll just grab something from the food stands outside." Mizuha muttered to herself. When she started walking towards the exit, she stopped once she realized that she didn't exactly have cash on her.

Mizuha sighed heavily. She wasn't really in the mood to eat waffles or the school food...

Then she grinned.

She searched for a particular person somewhere up in the audience. She was hoping that they hadn't left the stadium left. It didn't take her too long to spot them.

Mizuha ran towards the wall of the stadium and called them, "Uncle Eijin!"

At the sound of his name, the said man curiously turned around. He was behind All Might on his way out of the stadium but the scared look on his niece's face made him jump over seats and down onto the field.

He approached his niece with worry, "What's wrong, Mizuha?"

Instantly, Mizuha's scared expression turned into a sly one, "Can I have some money for lunch?"

Eijin narrowed his eyes at her.

Mizuha batted her eyelashes.

"You made me acrobat my way here for money?"

"Pretty much."

Eijin turned around to leave. Mizuha scowled and quickly jumped onto his back, making him yelp in surprise and catch her legs.

"Mizuha! Stop it!"

"Come on! I just wanna buy the food their selling outside!"

"Go eat at the cafeteria!"

"Nooooo!"

Knowing she wasn't going to give up, he looked back at her with a frown, "What do you want to buy?"

Mizuha grinned victoriously, "Just some cup noodles!" said Mizuha while sliding off of her uncle's back.

The older man grumbled under his breath. He reached for his back pocket and fished out his wallet. He pulled out enough cash for what she desired and shoved it in her open hand. Mizuha thanked him with a grin and hugged him tightly.

She looked like his daughter once she looked up at him with her chin planted on his chest.

"Just make sure to eat." He returned her hug, ruffling her hair with one hand.

* * *

Mizuha was walking around the stadium out of curiosity. This was her first time in the U.A Stadium. She would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about what was in the stadium. There was probably nothing interesting compared to what was going on outside. With the food stands just outside the stadium, she decided to look around to satisfy her curiosity.

She started tapping her chin while walking the dark hallway.

"This is the first year stage... where are the other stages for the second and third years? I know that they separate the years and that the principal usually is the chief umpire for the third years' stage. Hmm... maybe I should go check them out while I still have time... I can eat while walking."

With that thought in mind, Mizuha fished for her phone in her pocket. She turned it on and saw that she fifty minutes till the end of the lunch break. She frowned. Maybe she could check them out during the afternoon activities if she didn't have enough time _—_

Suddenly, a hand was clamped onto her mouth. She let out muffled sounds of protests while swinging her free hand behind her.

When she thought of opening her mouth and biting their hand, they pulled her to the side, hand still tight on her mouth and whispered something harshly.

"Shut the fuck up."

...

...

...

Mizuha relaxed in their hold and looked up with a deadpanned look.

 _I know that damn voice._

Apparently, she was so lost in thought and focused on her little screen that she didn't even notice that she wasn't alone. Hiding around the corner was Bakugo, and whatever was going on just past the corner was something he didn't want her getting into.

Her expression turned into a confused one when she noticed that he wasn't even looking at her. He was paying attention to something else.

 _Wait what's going? Is he listening to something?_

"Endeavor's my old man. I'm sure you know that he's been stuck as the number two hero for forever."

 _Todoroki?_

"If you have something from the number one hero, then I... have even more reason to beat you."

Mizuha's eyes widened, she shoved her phone back in her pocket and grabbed Bakugo's hand off of her mouth. His hold on her mouth had weakened when he felt her relax.

 _I don't think this is something I should be listening to..._

"My old man has a strong desire to rise in the world. As a hero, he won a name for himself for crushing force. Because of that, the living legend, All Might, is a great eyesore to him. Since he couldn't surpass All Might, he moved onto his next plan."

"What are you talking about, Todoroki...? What are you trying to tell me?" She finally heard Midoriya speak.

"You've heard of Quirk marriages, right? The thing that became a problem for the second and third generation after superpowers appeared. Strong individuals would choose a partner and force them into marriage for the sole purpose of passing on a strengthened version of their own Quirk. Those earlier generations were lacking in ethics. He won over my mother's relatives and got a hold of my mother's Quirk."

Mizuha froze. While the guilt of eavesdropping was clearly clouding her mind... something else was starting to rise inside of her.

"Raising me as a Hero who could exceed All Might, just to fulfill his own ambitions _—"_

 _I feel... sick._

" _—_ I hate it! Being no more than a tool for that human garbage. In my memories, my mother is always crying. _Your left side is unsightly,_ my mother said as she poured boiling hot water on me."

 _However, the feature that Mizuha noticed the most was the large scar on the left side of his face. She was wondering how he could have possibly gotten a scar like that during his childhood. It definitely wasn't the type of scar you get after you trip and fall._

Mizuha swallowed thickly when she associated this new information with his noticeable scar. She had no idea Endeavor was that type of person. All she knew about him was his public image, The Flame Hero. Endeavor was rather aggressive and dismissive, but knowing that there was more to Endeavor made her queasy.

 _What kind of father... does things like that? What kind of family..._

"Basically, I picked a fight with you to show him what I can do, without using my damn old man's Quirk."

Not wanting to hear anything more personal that was not for her ears, Mizuha immediately turned around and walked in the direction of where she came from, leaving Bakugo to hear to rest. While she didn't exactly like how she eavesdropped on something serious as that, she was kind of glad to know what kind of Hero Endeavor truly was.

A Hero that didn't care about anything but his own goals. A Hero that would hurt and use his family for his own ambitions.

 _Endeavor doesn't care about anything but being number one, huh? I hope he stays the eternal number two hero for the rest of his days... There's no way that a son, who you robbed of a normal childhood and forced to work for your own goals, would ever go along with your plan. People are **not** tools._

Mizuha's fists were clenched tightly when she left the stadium.

* * *

Mizuha slurped on her noodles with a nasty expression. It was difficult to think of something else. The Endeavor knowledge was really bugging her.

After she bought her noodles, she wandered off to a less crowded area. She didn't exactly find a bench to sit on so she decided to eat while standing up. She didn't want people bumping into her and making her spill her food on her clothes too. The idea of smelling like cup noodles for the rest of the day didn't really please her. To avoid all unnecessary complications, she stayed far away from the areas with too much people and chose to stay in one the had reasonable enough of people that would allow her to eat in peace.

When she couldn't reach for anymore noodles at the end of the cup, she realized she finished her lunch. Mizuha didn't even realize how fast she was eating since she was thinking about it too much. She walked towards the nearest trash can while drinking up what was left. The moment she dropped her polystyrene foamed cup in the bin, she immediately turned around.

Only to collide with someone.

The person she collided with let out a yelp.

Mizuha stumbled backwards, tripping over her own shoes.

Realizing the mistake she made, her eyes widened when she felt the loss of balance.

"Oops!"

A a hand shot forward and firmly grabbed onto her wrist before she could fall.

Mizuha's eyes darted to look at the hand holding onto her, trailed up the... muscular arm all the way to the person's face. She noticed that they were wearing the blue U.A gym attire.

It was another tall giant. It was a male student who had blond hair styled in a cowlick. His blue eyes seemed to be smiling along with his friendly smile on his lips. Mizuha then noticed another male student standing behind him, he had messy dark hair and noticeable pointy ears. He looked rather... shaken up.

Slowly, the guy holding onto her pulled her towards him and allowed her to get back on her feet properly. Then he grinned and patted her shoulders a few time before placing his hands on his hips.

"There we go!"

Mizuha stared blankly at him for a few seconds until she realized that she didn't thank him.

"O-Oh... thanks." She said while bowing down swiftly.

When she straightened back up, the blond haired student was leaning a little closer to her. Immediately, Mizuha leaned back out of reflex.

 _The heck? Wait... he looks... a little older than me..._

"Oh! Now I where I saw saw you! You're one of the students in Class 1-A!" He exclaimed with grin.

Mizuha quirked up an eyebrow and titled her head to the side, "... How did you know?"

 _Because I never introduced myself and I don't think you're a first year like me!_

He did a close eyed smile, "I saw you on the news."

Mizuha sweat dropped, _Damn news people._

Then, as if he remembered something important, he moved away to look at the other student behind him. The dark haired student took a few steps forward and apologized with a shaky voice.

"S-Sorry for bumping into you..." He muttered, shifting his eyes away after making eye contact with her once.

Mizuha shook her head, "No, it's alright. It's my fault too. Sorry."

It wasn't a big deal. No harm done.

The blond then laughed merrily, "Well, we're going to go eat lunch now! Good luck in the Sports Festival!" He told her before he and his companion walked off past her.

When she felt like they were far enough, Mizuha turned to look at their backs. They did strike her as older students but she wasn't sure from what year. She frowned a little when she thought about how she could have asked them where their stage was.

With a dejected sigh, Mizuha walked off in the opposite direction.

"... That guy with the messy hair... he looks familiar..."

...

...

...

The dark haired student glanced over his shoulder to look back at the girl he bumped into. He stopped moving his legs to stare at the younger girl.

Then it clicked.

* * *

 _He was currently on a break... a long break actually. Once the news of USJ's attack reached the ears of their math teacher, he instantly dropped his chalk and stopped teaching. Their teacher_ _made a dash to the door,_ _leaving all their material sprawled on the teacher's desk but not without announcing that they were going to finish the lesson next time._

 _The news about a first year class getting attacked at USJ was quickly relayed to the school. It spread like wildfire. The whole school knew about it. The only question now was if the students were all safe? We're any of them severely injured?_

 _The whole class began whispering to each other about the sudden news. All the students closed their books and remained in class until their real break time._

 _The dark haired student had left the classroom to go and use the washroom._

 _That was what he heard while walking in the hallway. He would be lying if he said he didn't feel any concern for his juniors that he had never met before._

 _As he turned around the corner, someone ran into him, making him yelp in shock and then they both fell on the ground. He was lucky enough to land on his butt but he couldn't say the same about the other person. When he looked at the person next to him, he was horrified at the sight of them facing the ground. He felt somewhat responsible._

 _He felt even worse when he heard them sniffle as they got on their knees._

 _"A-Ah... I-I'm sorry..." He stuttered out._

 _They shook their head, "Sorry. I'm sorry..." they mumbled loud enough for him to hear._

 _A girl's voice?_

 _The girl got back on her feet and held out her hand for him. He shakily accepted her help and allowed her to pull him up. That's when he got a good look at her. She was wearing a hero costume. While her hood did cast a shadow over her face, he could see her swollen eyes and dried tears._

 _OH GOD. DID I DO THAT?!_

 _Before he could even say anything, she bowed down in front of him and apologized once more. Then she ran past him down the hallway behind him._

 _He watched her figure become smaller and smaller, constantly worrying about if he had made her feel bad._

* * *

Noticing his friend's stop, the blond haired student stopped as well, "Tamaki? What's wrong?" he asked curiously.

"... back then she looked sad... she looked scared when she bumped into me..." Tamaki muttered to himself. He didn't realize that he spoke out loud. Loud enough for his friend to hear and to question him about it.

"Do you know her?"

Tamaki looked at his friend from the corner of his eye, "No, Mirio. This just isn't the first time we bumped into each other..."

* * *

 **"Now that lunch is over, it's finally time to reveal the last game! But before that, there's good news for all of you who didn't make it to the finals! This is still a Sports Festival! So we've prepared recreational games that everyone can participate in, too! We've even brought real cheerleaders from America to liven things up! Huh?"**

 **"What are they doing?"**

Mizuha stared at the sight before her, very much amused. She didn't know what happened but all of her female classmates were wearing cheerleader outfits, similar to the ones the American girls were wearing.

"What's the matter, Class A? What kind of fan service is that?"

Yaoyorozu looked at the ones responsible, "Mineta! Kaminari! You tricked us!" She exclaimed.

Mizuha let out a small 'pfft'.

 **"All right everyone! Let's have fun competing in the recreational games! When that's over, the twenty from the six teams that made it to the final round will duke it out tournament style, one-on-one!"**

Mizuha got fired up. To her, this was definitely the main event. What better way to show your skills than in a real fight?

"Now, let's draw lots to determine the bracket," announced Midnight. "Once the bracket is determined, we'll have the recreational games, and then we'll start! The twenty finalists can choose whether or not they want to participate in the recreation. I'm sure some of you want to rest or save your strength."

 _Screw that. Why waste my time on useless games?_ thought Mizuha and rolled her eyes.

"Now, from the first place team _—_ "

"Um excuse me? I... I am withdrawing."

Everyone looked at Ojiro, the one who spoke, with shock.

Everyone listened to his reasoning. Apparently, he didn't remember anything that happened during the Calvary Battle. After that, another student requested a withdrawal for the same reason.

 **"This is an unusual turn of events…"**

 **"We'll have to see what the chief umpire, Midnight, has to say about this."**

Everyone looked at Midnight. It was silent.

"Youthful talk like that is something… I like!" she exclaimed, "Shoda! Ojiro! I accept your withdrawal! In that case, we'll have to move up two people from Team Kendo take place cavalry battle team…"

Mizuha looked confused, _Youthful talk?_

"If that's what's going to happen, then rather than us, who did barely anything during the cavalry battle, it should be them, right?" suggested the orange haired girl from Class 1-B, "The ones who fought to the end and stayed in the top was Team Tetsutetsu, right?"

"Kendo…!" Tetsutetsu said, surprised by her words.

"This isn't collusion or anything," she shrugged with a smile. "It just makes sense."

With that, Tetsutesu and Shiozaki were selected to replace the two who withdrew.

"Now, I present to you… the bracket based on the results of the drawing!"

The screen behind Midnight revealed the names on her cue.

 **SHINSO VS MIDORIYA**  
 **TODOROKI VS SERO**  
 **SHIOZAKI VS KAMINARI**  
 **IIDA VS HATSUME**  
 **ASHIDO VS AOYAMA**  
 **TOKOYAMI VS YAOYOROZU**  
 **TETSUTETSU VS KIRISHIMA**  
 **URARAKA VS BAKUGO**  
 **HYOUMEI VS MOKUEN**  
 **KYOURAN VS JUSHIMA**

 _Based on the results... someone is going to be fighting extra match before they can move on..._

Mizuha tilted her head to the side when she saw her bracket. Who was Mokuen? Who the heck was that?

Mizuha put her hand under her chin.

 _Mokuen... Mokuen._

Where did she hear that name before? Something about the name was clawing at the inside of her skull but yet she couldn't remember the reason why it did. Mizuha's eyes shifted towards the match next to hers. Her fingers twitched.

Kyouran was the fight connected to her bracket. If he won... and she won...

 _"I know you're planning on changing schools! Hell, I don't think you deserve to be here at all! You're not here for Pro Heroes. You're here to try and get accepted into another school!"_

Mizuha gritted her teeth. Her hands were balled in fists. If he thought that she didn't deserve to be at this event then wouldn't he try to remove her from it if he had the opportunity?

 _Mizuha held out her hand, "So?"_

 _Byakuren then smirked darkly, "You just might regret bringing me to the finals."_

 _He shook her hand as a sign of truce, gripping her hand with much force._

 _Mizuha supported the same dark look on her face, "That's a risk I'm willing to live with."_

Was bringing him to the finals really worth it knowing that this could have been the outcome?

 _Of course it was_. Mizuha relaxed her hands and wrinkled her nose as she hardened herself.

To her, everything is worth it if she was able to make it this far. She didn't regret anything at all. And if Kyouran was planning on knocking her out of the finals, then he had another thing coming because she wasn't going to sit there and let him do what he wanted. Far from it, she was going to go all out. But she did have to admit that she was concerned about their possible fight. He knew her too well... and he might just use that to his advantage to make things even more difficult.

Mizuha felt a slight tap on her shoulder.

Mizuha looked behind her, turning her body around at the same time. Standing behind her was a girl, shorter than her. She had maroon coloured hair and purple eyes.

She was smiling at her.

"You're Hyoumei, right?" she asked.

Mizuha nodded.

"I'm Mokuen." She said with a hand on her chest, "Let's have a good fight, yeah?"

Mizuha resisted the urge to narrow her eyes in suspicion in front of Mokuen.

Again, Mizuha nodded.

Instantly, Mokuen's smile dropped and she started walking away as if Mizuha no longer interested her. There it was. That smile never fooled her. The platinum haired girl clicked her tongue and huffed.

"Jeez. How annoying." Mizuha muttered and rolled her eyes, _I'll freaking crush you._

* * *

Mizuha followed her class to their designated seat area and sat far away from everyone. Her seat was at the top near the exit. She wanted to be prepared to leave right away when her turn approached. This seat would also allow her to get a good view of the stage.

For once, she wanted to pay attention to her classmates fighting. Normally, she would have preferred sitting back, closing her eyes and wait for her turn, or even just pull out her phone to appease her boredom. But it was her final days in U.A, she might as well do things differently before starting the same routine again at another school.

She had no idea what happened during Midoriya's match. First he was walking slowly towards the boundary line, then he sort of snapped out of it and forced Shinso out of bounds.

Todoroki's fight was a little overkill. Poor Sero didn't stand a chance. However, she did have to admit that he had the good initiative to force Todoroki out of bounds the moment Present Mic started the match. If it were anyone else, he probably would have won.

Kaminari... well his fight was just embarrassing.

The same thing goes for Iida. Poor guy was being used for the sake of promoting Hatsume's equipment. Mizuha wanted to burst out laughing when the pink haired student simply stepped over the boundary line, declaring Iida as the winner of the 'match'.

Mizuha was impressed with Ashido's ability to use her Acid as a way to move around. Not to mention that she looked pretty nimble while dodging Aoyama's laser beams. Sadly, due to Aoyama's lack of mobility, that match ended with an uppercut to his chin.

Yaoyorozu ended up being pushed out of bounds by Tokoyami's Dark Shadow. She probably didn't have enough time to think seeing how Tokoyami's Quirk was definitely the all-range type.

The fight between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu. If she was going to be completely honest for once, she was silently cheering for Kirishima. However, the fight resulted with a double knockout, meaning they had to settle it with a game of arm wrestling after they recover. He might not have won... but having another chance to win was still good. She really hoped he would come out as the victor for the arm wrestling.

Seeing as her turn was coming up soon, Mizuha stood up from her seat and went to her designated waiting room. She did so with haste to be able to watch the next match on the TV in the room. She was really looking forward to watching that one.

Following that match was Uraraka and Bakugo. This match created new profound respect inside Mizuha for both, Uraraka and Bakugo. Uraraka, for being brave and for facing the challenge head on without giving up. And Bakugo for respecting his opponent and not holding anything back and not simply pushing her out of bounds. Uraraka may have lost the match but not without doing what matters most, giving it everything she had.

Mizuha dropped her head down with a sigh. She ran her fingers in her hair with a small smile.

 _... what a strong girl... I wonder... what it would have been like... if we were friends?_

* * *

 **"Next up, for our ninth match... Are these girls!"**

Mizuha and Mokuen's profile appeared on the screens.

Kirishima perked up in his seat.

 _"It's fine. I think I've already given up on the possibility of staying here. Now, I'm just hoping that my performance at the Sports Festival might help with my registration to a new school." She said with a shrug with eyes fixed on the small rock._

Byakuren sat up correctly in his seat and crossed his arms.

...

...

...

 **"She stood out a couple of times during both the prelims and team events! I remember you from the Entrance Exams! She's from the Hero Course... Hyoumei Mizuha! "**

Taking in a deep breath, the teenager stepped out into the light, revealing herself to the crowd. The stadium boomed with loud cheering and maybe even screaming. The many screens displayed in the stadium were zoomed in on her as she made her way to the stage. Like any other participant, excluding people like Bakugo, she was honestly feeling a little stressed.

But she wasn't scared.

 **"One who hasn't really stood out yet but is still here. She's also from the Hero Course... Mokuen Hikari!"**

Once she reached the stage, Mokuen arrived at the same time. They were now facing each other. Mizuha patiently waited while observing Mokuen attentively. Her performance in the obstacle race and the cavalry battle probably gave her a good idea about her Quirk.

 _Like it's going to do you any good._

If so, then Mizuha was going to attack first to reduce Mokuen's chances from winning.

Mokuen then spoke to her, with a hard look, "I recommend that you do your best."

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at her, "Hah?"

 **"ALRIGHT, GIRLS! READY? ... BEGIN!"**

* * *

 **My timing couldn't be perfect! I introduced two manga characters who are now also going to be anime characters this week! (Did any manga readers figure out that it was Tamaki she bumped into back in chapter 10?)**

 ****NOTE**  
Just a reminder, Mizuha's Quirk involves Water Manipulation. Meaning it allows her to control water to her will. In addition to changing the temperature of her water, she can also manipulate her water in whatever phase it is in (gas, liquid, solid).**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to drop a review to tell me what you thought!**


	17. Chapter 17: UA Sports Festival III

As soon as Present Mic started the match, Mizuha aggressively stomped her foot on the ground, immediately creating a wave of ice shooting towards Mokuen. She was either going to trap her or throw her out of bounds.

Mokuen ran towards the left at full speed with the ice following closely behind. Mizuha simply move her head and her eyes, keeping track of Mokuen movements.

 _It doesn't matter where you go... because my ice will catch you!_

Mizuha then forced her ice to lunge at her. The ice picked up speed, then expanded as it rose up like a tsunami, and then dropped down on Mokuen. It encased a good part of the stage in ice.

 **"OH?! Has Hyoumei won already?!"**

Mizuha's eyes widened. _No wait..._

Suddenly, Mizuha became alarmed. Something was wrong.

With a swift hand movement, she shattered her ice, revealing nothing but Mokuen's absence. How did she escape? There was no way she could have avoided it.

Then, she heard a rustle of movement behind her. Mizuha whirled around and side stepped to her right, just in time to avoid a fist aimed at her. Mizuha clenched her teeth and jumped away from Mokuen, keeping a good distance between them.

"Heeeh... pretty good reaction time." drawled Mokuen, smirking.

She disappeared.

She just disappeared right before her eyes.

Mizuha looked around her rapidly, whipping her head in different directions to try and find Mokuen. Then without any sign, a kick landed on her stomach, followed by a punch behind her shoulder.

Mizuha stumbled forward while wincing, only to get shoved back from a kick. It was continuous. It was evident that she looked like a punching bag.

Eijin leaned forward in his seat, his hands were folded on his knees and in front of his face. His eyebrows were furrowed with worry.

 _Mizuha is strong but that doesn't mean anything if you can't see your opponent and can't even react. Mizuha, if you can't find a way to catch her, you're going to lose._

 **"Too fast! Way too fast! Mokuen is too fast for Hyoumei to see!"**

"...Hyoumei can't even react." Kaminari stated with surprise.

Uraraka frowned worriedly at the edge of her seat, "How is she teleporting like that?"

From their seats, it looked like Hyoumei was getting hit from an invisible force in different directions. Every time she regained her footing, she was thrown off balance by another hit. Every time she aimed for Mokuen, she missed. Nothing was working.

By now, the whole stage practically glistened with Mizuha's ice.

"OOOH?! WHAT'S THIS? A CLASS 1-B STUDENT IS GETTING THE UPPER-HAND AGAINST A MIGHTY CLASS 1-A STUDENT?!" A certain Class 1-B exclaimed loudly from behind a wall.

Everyone looked at the side and spotted Monoma, peeking over their wall and laughing. They were all wondering what the heck was wrong with him.

He gave a them a sly smile, "I GUESS CLASS 1-A ISN'T ALL THAT GOOD—"

An ginger haired girl landed a hit behind Monoma's head, knocking him out. Monoma blacked out and sagged against the wall. Kendo grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him away from the wall dividing both class just before he fell to the ground.

Kendo peeked over the wall and smiled apologetically, "Sorry."

Kendo turned away and literally threw Monoma back into his seat. His head dropped on one of his classmates' shoulders.

Kendo went back to her own seat with a sigh, "Leave them alone, Monoma."

Tetsutesu, who witnessed Monoma's little scene, returned his attention to the fight below, grinning proudly.

"But he's right. This is Mokuen's match! She's so fast that it literally looks like she's teleporting everywhere. All she needs to do is push her out of bounds!"

Mizuha growled in annoyance, "STOP SCREWING AROUND!"

She made another wave of ice in the direction she _thought_ Mokuen was in. She was wrong. Mokuen appeared in front of Mizuha and kicked her in the gut, sending her flying and rolling towards the boundary line, practically right next to it.

Mizuha coughed a few times, she definitely felt that one. This was not going well, and it wasn't how she expected her match to start off. She got back on her feet and faced her opponent. Mokuen looked unscathed, and it annoyed her so much. As Mizuha moved away from boundary line, she kept her eyes on Mokuen figure.

With how fast Mokuen was moving, she could have just kicked her all the way past the line... yet here she was, still in the match.

There was a few seconds of silence, during which was filled with tension. Mizuha was getting riled up, she needed to calm down a little.

 _It's not teleportation... I can hear her running. The sound of her steps are present... she's just too fast._

"Stop screwing around? Why don't you listen to yourself, then?"

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at her, _What?_ _What the hell is she talking about?!_

Mizuha propelled herself towards the center of the stage, towards Mokuen, and aimed all her attacks at her. She tried using her Quirk against her but it was futile.

Then she vanished again.

 _She's around here... just listen carefully..._

This time ready, Mizuha raised her right arm and blocked her elevated foot just in time, with her left hand, then she firmly grasped Mokuen's ankle. Mokuen gasped in surprise. She clearly wasn't expecting Mizuha to catch her. She tried to pull away from Mizuha's iron hold.

"Finally! I got you!" Mizuha yelled, exasperatedly.

 **"Hyoumei has finally caught her!"**

The platinum haired added her right hand to Mokuen's ankle, cocking back a little while shifting her hold, before literally swing her harshly down onto the floor.

Mizuha immediately regretted her decision. Her irritation got the best of her, and it caused her to act without thinking. She should have just dragged her out of bounds instead of throwing her against the floor because now Mokuen still had the chance of winning the match.

 _Damn it! I'm letting my anger decide..!_

No, if she acted quick enough, she should be able to get her before Mokuen could react.

Mizuha desperately reached for Mokuen.

She was too late.

"Not a chance!" Mokuen grunted. She was behind her. Before Mizuha could turn around, she felt an impact behind her knees causing her to drop down forward. With a foot to her back, she slammed down against the floor.

Suddenly, she felt Mokuen grab one of her wrists. Mizuha felt her body getting pulled forward by the shorter girl, directly towards the boundary line.

 **"Ooh! Mokuen is now literally dragging Hyoumei out of bounds! Get up Hyoumei!"**

Mokuen was pulling her body while running.

 _She can't move fast if she's holding onto something...? In that case!_

Mizuha pulled her wrist forward, tugging Mokuen towards her, and she shifted her position. The shorter girl stumbled forward only to receive a kick to her face. Mizuha glanced behind Mokuen and noticed that they were at the half way point between the center and the boundary line. She only needed to push her out and she would win. That was all it would take!

"Hyoumei is still going strong!

Mokuen let out a noise of frustration, "Damn it! You don't deserve to be here!"

Mizuha dodged one of Mokuen's attacks, despite feeling mildly shocked. Why did she just say?

Soon, she found herself wrestling Mokuen, who was on top of her. (Pleasing a certain grape fruit up in the stands). Several blows to the face were exchanged between them, irritating Mizuha immensely.

"Get off of me!"

"You're the reason why Shu is so sad!" She cried angrily.

Mizuha froze.

...

...

...

 _Shu?_

 _Mokuen?_

 _Mokuen..._

 _Mokuen... Shu?_

 _Mokuen Shu._

* * *

 _Mizuha shook in her seat in the waiting room. Her eyes were fixated on the tiled floor just beneath her shoes. Her body was numbing due to the guilt, inside of her, practically eating her alive. The horrific scene that took place earlier played in her mind as if it was in a loop. It was like watching a play take place on the stage, and she could only watch from the audience's perspective. Seeing it play repeatedly in her mind, knowing the outcome, knowing how it ended. She could do nothing but watch it play out._ _It was all stuck in her head._

 _The sound of someone crying pulled her away from the stage play in her mind. The numbness also faded away._

 _She noticed that her head was leaning on someone's shoulder. They hand an arm wrapped around her shoulders with their hand rubbing her side in an attempt to comfort her and calm her down. They're cheek was resting against Mizuha's hair, and they were murmuring words of comfort._

 _She recognized their voice as Byakuren's._

 _She spotted the person crying not too far away from them. It was a girl that they didn't know who looked around their age. She had maroon coloured hair, strikingly similar to someone they knew._

 _They wailed in an adult woman's arms, probably their mother's._

 _"Is big brother Shu going to be okay, mom?" They hiccuped with tears cascading down their face._

 _"Shh... it's okay."_

 _She didn't give her daughter an answer._

 _Byakuren lifted up his head from his friend's, curiously looking at the family, "Shu? That's probably Mokuen's little sister..." He muttered._

 _Mizuha felt sick. The guilt inside her grew bigger as this new information reeled into her mind._

 _She was ashamed. Her actions not only affect those directly involved, but also theirs families._

 _It broke her. She aggressively palmed her face and let out a broken cry, she was falling apart and falling deeper into her guilt._

 _"I did this... I hurt everyone... this is all my fault..." She said in between gasps, clutching onto her hair._

 _Byakuren immediately wrapped his arms around his friend, trying desperately to calm her down. He petted her hair, wiped away her tears, rubbed her back and continued whispering more comforting words._

 _"Mizuha... shhh... it's okay..."_

 _It was never going to be okay._

 _How could it?_

* * *

The audience didn't even have time to blink. A literal spiral of ice emitted from Mizuha's body, it shot forward in several different directions. It was like warning, telling Mokuen to stay away.

Mokuen was lucky enough to have felt this sudden incoming attack. She quickly moved away from Mizuha, ending up back in the center of the stage.

The memories of the aftermath were clawing back.

Mizuha slowly sat up and carefully got back on her feet, wobbling a little.

For five years, Mizuha had successfully pushed away the painful memories. She wanted to forget because she knew it was ruining her. Staying away from anything that served as a painful reminder of the past was the best option she came up with.

She cut off all contact with the victims involved.

She stayed away from her brother as much as she could.

She pushed away everything that had the potential to repeat the incident.

She stayed away from the idea of creating new friendships.

She changed herself.

And all that hard work was destroyed with the mention of the name Shu.

Everything was returning again.

Mizuha's body trembled as a mix of anger and fear violently swirled inside her. The necessary drive for whatever she was going to do next. Mizuha glared darkly at Mokuen but yet remained rooted in her spot.

As soon as Mokuen disappeared from her view once more, Mizuha formed an immense ice wall, similar to the ones she created in her time in the Conflagration Zone. It stretched all the way to the boundary lines on the side, blocking all of Mokuen's potential paths, and then shoved forward all the way to the boundary line on the opposite side of Mizuha. It happened just as fast as Mokuen disappeared.

Kyouran's eyes widened in shock. It was fast, but he was able to see it just in time. The moment Mokuen had disappeared, she was running straight at Mizuha and at the same time, the ice wall slammed into her, sending her flying out of the stage.

Mizuha clenched her fists and breathed out heavily and shakily.

The ice wall shattered and fell apart. It revealed Mokuen, sitting on the floor, looking shocked and shaken up about what had just happened.

Midnight raised her hand, "Mokuen is out of bounds! Hyoumei advances to the second round!"

The audience cheered for Mizuha and clapped for her victory. As the cheering went on, Mizuha strode over to the opposite side of the stage to reach Mokuen. The maroon haired girl was confound when Mizuha held out a hand for her.

 **"Oh? Hyoumei is helping her opponent! What a good display of sportsmanship!"**

Mokuen shakily lifted her hand and reached for Mizuha's, hestating. The moment their hands were about to touch, Mizuha moved her hand away and grabbed her wrist, pulling her up from the floor but not completely. Mizuha kept her rear just above the ground with her foot planted on one of Mokuen's and she kept her held up by holding her wrist.

Mokuen winced when she felt Mizuha's grip tightened around her.

With a dark look on her face, she stared down at Mokuen as if she was a pest.

"Keep your mouth shut." She said coldly before letting her go, dropping her back down on the floor.

Shocked, Mokuen could only stare at her with a mouth slightly agape.

"Hyoumei! That's enough!" Midnight called her out for her rude behavior, she even threatened to disqualify her.

 **"... That's not nice, Hyoumei."**

Mizuha stood up straight, removing her foot off of Mokuen's. She shrugged, "My hand slipped. I'm sure she can get back up on her own."

With that, Mizuha walked off the stage, but not without hearing the audience's disapproval for her lack of respect.

* * *

The moment she returned to her class in the stands, she was confronted by a certain Class 1-B student who looked ready to pick a fight.

"Rude girl! You have no respect for others, huh?!" Tetsutetsu shouted at her from behind the wall.

"Yeah, that wasn't necessary." added Kendo, disapproving of the way Mizuha treated her classmate. Mokuen had also returned to her class and everyone was defending her.

It was not just Class 1-B but her own class as well didn't like what she did. She had also created more hatred for her class. She was even getting lectured by the class rep himself, which she ignored.

Mizuha boringly looked at the silver haired student, "You should tell your classmate to mind her own business. She has no business running her mouth and telling others what to do."

She sat down, crossed her legs and laughed mockingly, "Not only that, but she let her personal feelings get involved! How stupid!"

Tetsutsu shook angrily, "Why you!"

Mokuen bit her bottom lip and lowered her head, "Tetsutetsu... that's enough. She's right..."

"But Mokuen, the way she treated you is unacceptable!"

"Please, just stop."

Upon hearing her insisting request, Tetsutetsu calmed down and sat back down in his seat, grumbling.

With a sigh, Kyouran stood up from his seat. His turn was coming up next and he didn't go to the waiting room, instead he stayed in his seat and watch the whole fight. He needed to hurry before they started his match.

Kirishima gave him a thumbs up, "Good luck, Kyouran!"

Kyouran smiled at the red head and waved before climbing up the steps. Just as he passed by Mizuha, he stopped for a moment and stared at her.

"Personal feelings, huh? Speak for yourself."

Mizuha stiffened in her seat.

"You're out of this tournament." He stated before running off to his match.

Mizuha pushed the inside of her cheek with her tongue, _I'm out of this tournament? He clearly means he's going to win if we go up against each other. Jeez, be straight with me if you want to say something, don't hide it behind your words._

 _"You're the reason why Shu is so sad!"_

Mizuha flinched. Mokuen's words were starting to get to her now. That meant that it was all coming back to her. With a growl, she crossed her legs and slammed her foot down. She got up from her seat and walked down the path she came from. She needed to walk around and clear her mind.

 _I can't let this get to me! Not now! I don't have time for that!_

Kirishima, who was watching Byakuren leave, shifted his eyes towards Mizuha. Byakuren stopped and said something to Hyoumei which made her face twist into an irritated expression. She got up from her seat and left in a hurried manner.

 _"Go away. Stop acting like we're friends because we're not. We never were. You're the one that's been forcing a friendship to exist. I never wanted that."_

* * *

Mizuha groaned in frustration when her memories of the past slowly started to flood her mind. She was glad that she developed the ability to cope with the pain that came along with the memories while she grew up. It didn't hurt as much as it did, but it still hurt. The guilt wasn't eating her alive, but it was still lurking.

She just needed to be alone for a while.

Mizuha found a deserted area just around a corner and decided to stay there for a while. She leaned back against a wall and allowed herself to fall on the floor with a soft _thud_ _._

She fished for her phone and brought it up to her face, noticing several missed calls from her mother and father once she opened it. Judging from the time they called, they most likely called her after her fight.

Mizuha groaned, _They were probably watching it on TV._

With a sigh, she cleared her missed call notifications, "Sorry, mom, dad... I'm not really in the mood for a lecture."

 _Shiran_ (」゜ロ゜)」

Mizuha blinked in surprise. Her thumb was hovering over her brother's contact name, waiting for her brain to command her thumb to press it. She didn't even realize that she searched for Shiran's name after clearing her notifications.

Mizuha chuckled bitterly, _The old habits are returning too..._

Her brother's phone was plugged in his room, it was still working. A year after the incident, Mizuha charged his phone and left it in his room without ever touching it again. She missed her brother dearly. He would always be there to talk to her whenever she had problems. But when he was no longer there, Mizuha found a way to simulate a conversation with him. She would call but he would never answer the phone. But that was alright because he would always be there to listen to her... kind of.

With a frown, Mizuha shakily pressed his name and called him.

It rang.

Then he answered.

 _"Heyo~! You've reached the Trickster Hero's number Shiran Hyoumei! I'm not really available at the moment, but please leave a message! I promise I'll listen to it! Alright? Okay, bye! — **BEEEP!** "_

Mizuha hesitated.

...

...

...

"It's hard y'know? Seeing it all again. It's painful and it's making me feel bad again. I've tried so hard to stay away everything... to bury it all away... but was it not enough? Why is it coming back with just a name? I thought I did everything I could... I-I've been living my life while not being true to myself. Everyday it's the same fakery."

She breathed out heavily.

"Because if I get too attached... I might repeat what I did, don't you remember? I let my emotions take over and tried to do everything... but it was wrong! Instead, I just made everything worse! Shu... Akane, Naomi, Kousuke... Kyougyoku... and you... Everyone got hurt and all I did was hide and watch everything. I don't ever want others to get hurt because—"

"—Hyoumei?"

Mizuha jolted and whipped her head up, pressing the 'end call' button immediately.

She found a familiar redhead staring down at her curiously... and worriedly.

She clicked her tongue and put away her phone, "... What do you want, Kirishima?" she asked, tired. She looked away and lolled her head in the opposite direction.

"... I was worried about you. You kinda left suddenly and looked irritated, so I followed after you. And uh, I'm sorry... I kinda overheard your phone call." said Kirishima.

The corner of her lips twitched, "... I would be angry because you eavesdropped but it's also my fault for making that call out in the open like an idiot." She said flatly, "And how can you be worried after what I said to you before the Sports Festival started? You don't make sense." She added.

Slowly, Kirishima approached her and slid down to the floor next to her while making sure not to sit too close just in case she was uncomfortable. He observed her for any signs of pulling away and was relieved when he found none.

"Yeah, well you weren't exactly wrong either."

Mizuha glanced at him.

Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck and fixed the floor beneath his shoes, "I thought that you thought of me as a friend but I guess I was wrong. I may have been forcing a friendship with you and I'm sorry. But, tell me, why did you play along? Why weren't you straight with me and tell me you didn't want anything to do with me?"

Mizuha stiffened again, she looked away in shame, "... I'm not going to just tell you to leave me alone. That would have been rude and not nice. How could I say something like that to you, a nice guy?"

Kirishima, who was staring at her, slowly nodded his head and voiced out his thoughts, "I guess I really didn't know you at all."

"If you think that way that means I did a good job with keeping up my image."

He wasn't going to lie and say it didn't hurt. It did hurt to know that the person he respected was playing pretend right in front of his face ever since school started. He could have left her right there and just return to his seat but knowing how hurt she sounded on that phone call made his heart ache a little. He could tell that something wasn't right. It was clear when Kyouran expressed himself before the event started, and it seemed like it was getting worse with ninth match that just passed.

Hyoumei was definitely not okay.

And he wanted to find a way and help her.

"Do you have some history with Mokuen from Class 1-B? Because from what just happened earlier and with the way you spoke to her... it looks like that fight was a little personal."

Mizuha bit her lip, gritting her teeth.

 _"Is big brother Shu going to be okay, mom?" Mokuen hiccuped with tears cascading down her face._

"Kirishima. Please, go away."

The redhead twisted his body to look at her properly, "Please, Hyoumei. Give me a chance to understand you." He practically pleaded.

In that instant, Mizuha turned around so fast to look at her classmate. Out of reflex, Kirishima leaned back a little from her sudden movement and was taken back by how angry she looked. She was shaking and she couldn't control the outburst that was about to occur.

"Understand me?!"

 _... I need to calm down! I need to calm the hell down!_

"You could never understand what I went through!" She shouted at him, her emotions were out of her control.

 _Byakuren and Mizuha hid in the shadows behind two side-by-side dumpsters. Despite the small gap, they were able to witness everything. Byakuren suppressed her whimpers by keeping a hand over her mouth. Bystanders were screaming and yelling for Pro Heroes to help the only **remaining** Hero on the scene. Her four friends were laid down on the floor, some were injured with broken bones and probably even wounds. Just in front of them, was the sight of a young older woman with white hair similar to Byakuren's. She was unconscious and her face, that was facing them, had blood on it from the wound she suffered on her head._

 _She could feel his hand shaking on her mouth as the state of his older sister was right in front of him._

 _Mizuha's eyes darted upwards._

 _Just in time to see, through the small gap, her brother get attacked by a villain from behind._

" _Unless you know_ how it feels to let your emotions get the best of you and create an opportunity for villains to attack... **_Unless you know_** how it feels to do nothing and just sit back and watch as people get hurt because your scared as hell to even move!—"

 _Mizuha hugged her knees while sitting on her bed in the dark. It was already two in the morning and she was supposed to be heading out to school in a few hours. She knew that but she just couldn't sleep at all._

 _School was difficult. Her four classmates, who were involved in the incident, had fully recovered and was attending school once again._

 _... But she never went to see them. It was too hard. She kept her distance from a lot of people._

 _She slowly wrapped herself in her bed covers and plopped her head down on her pillow. She needed to get some sleep somehow._

"Unless you know how it feels living with that guilt for five years then you'll never understand what I'm going through!" She ended, breathing heavily.

Her statement and all the pent up emotions she was feeling broke down the wall and the lock of her barrier. She thought she could still maintain it... but now it seemed futile.

Unable to stop it any longer, she started crying. She clutched her bangs in frustration, "Damn it... I'm not supposed to cry... I-I'm over that!" She said between gasps, her tears were denying her belief.

The sounds of her weeping were soon muffled as Kirishima started rubbing her back, holding her tightly.

She still had the mindset of acting tough and tried to resist his hold, "S-Stop it! What are y-you doing?!"

"Just cry, it's alright. You don't need to hide it if you need to let it out, don't continue to bottle it up."

"... Damn it, what the hell..."

As the tears overflowed, Kirishima held her silently while patting and rubbing her back. He realized that he was glad that he didn't give up on her when she indirectly told him to. If he ever found out how she really felt all this time once she left, he probably wouldn't be able to live with the fact that he didn't try to understand her better. Despite not experiencing whatever she went through, her shaking figure and her cries were enough to tell him that it was heavy and it was painful.

 _"You're my fucking problem! You're a damn coward!"_

 _"You're too scared and that's been clouding everything!"_

 _"Because if I get too attached... I might repeat what I did, don't you remember? I let my emotions take over and tried to do everything... but it was wrong! Instead, I just made everything worse! Shu... Akane, Naomi, Kousuke... Kyougyoku... and you... Everyone got hurt and all I did was hide and watch everything happen. I don't ever want others to get hurt because—"_

Kirishima continued his comforting gestures, blocking out the audience's cheering and focused on his classmate's state. He thought that this was a very much needed cry and he patiently waited for her to let it all out. He didn't know how many minutes had passed but when he noticed her shaking and her cries had subdued, he slowly pulled away and looked at her face.

Her tears were no longer falling like they did before. Her tears stopped.

"Are you alright now?"

She nodded.

Mizuha sniffled with red eyes and wiped away the rest of her tears with her sleeve. When she lowered her arm, she instantly frowned at the sight in front of her.

She lowered her head in shame, "I got your shirt wet... sorry. I was trying to not get it wet..."

Kirishima blinked and looked at his shirt. There was a damp spot on his shoulder where her face was resting when he held her. It wasn't so bad.

The boy smiled, shaking his head, "It's fine. This is just proof that you let out your emotions." said Kirishima while patting his slightly wet shoulder.

Mizuha furrowed her brows and couldn't help the fact that the corner of her mouth started to tug up, "That's a weird way to look at it."

The girl moved away from him to sit back against the wall once again, he did the same. There was a moment of silence between them and as if it indicated a moment to be more honest now that a wall between them was no longer, for now.

"It's fine if you don't wanna talk but if you do I'm here to listen." He offered nicely, "But if you don't want to that's fine too. I just don't want to see you break down like this." he rubbed the back of his neck, "I want you to be happier."

 _He really is a nice guy,_ she thought before bringing her knees up to her chest, feeling a little better.

"No, I think I should talk. If crying on you made me feel a little better then maybe talking about it can too."

Kirishima nodded, giving her all his attention.

"Alright, let's see... Do you remember the incident that happened in five years ago? It was the incident where four kids and two Pro Heroes got attacked by a group of villains."

"... Oh yeah, I think I remember seeing that news on TV, it happened two days before my birthday. It was reported that the Pro Heroes suffered a blow to the head which got them in a comatose state."

Mizuha nodded, "Those Pro Heroes were my brother and Kyouran's older sister. And it's pretty much my fault that the people I cared about got hurt that day. It was supposed to be a fun night with friends and family but it turned out to be the worst night when those villains came and attacked the area. A huge panic happened, and we all got separated in the crowd. It sucked that Shiran and Kyougyoku were the only heroes present at that time. They didn't even have their gear with them to make things easier in a fight."

"My brother specifically told me to go and find help since I knew where the closest hero agency was but I didn't listen, instead I went searching for Byakuren because I was scared of what might've happened to him. I was able to find my four friends, except for Kyouran, but this villain was in front of them and he was about to use his Quirk on them. I felt angry and scared... so I acted rashly and tried to save them. And thanks to my Quirk, I was barely able to make him miss his attack. I could have helped my friends flee from the villains but... I guess my emotions and lack of thought got the best of me. I stayed and was fighting back like an idiot. I just wasn't able to realize that I caught the other villains' attention and I was immediately targeted along with my friends, who were standing behind me."

Mizuha sighed heavily and started tracing circles on the floor, "It happened so fast. Kyouran somehow got there in the nick of time and got me out the range of a Quirk attack with his own Quirk and made us hide behind these two dumpsters. Just the two of us because I was closer and he was only capable of carrying one person. A few seconds later, I was hearing my friends crying in pain and I was forced to sit back and watch helplessly while Kyouran kept us hidden. They got hurt because I didn't make the right decision to protect them. Our siblings got hurt because there were no other Pro Heroes that were there in time to help them because I didn't go seek out their help. I acted like wannabe hero and my actions hurt the people I care about... not just them... families of the victims too."

"That's basically the reason why I don't want to make friends. I distanced myself from everyone because I'm scared. I'm scared of making the wrong choice, of letting my emotions run wild and making me think I'm protecting others while I'm just creating more problems. You saw me during the USJ incident, I was freaking out over Kyouran getting hurt. I think about the possible danger but yet I can't move or think because I don't even know what's the right thing to do anymore! I even thought that reaching out for you and Bakugo when we got warped was the wrong thing to do! **_I'm scared of screwing up._** "

The redhead, who had been silently listening to her, pitied her, "... You did what you thought was right. How could anyone blame you for that?"

Mizuha shook her head, denying what he thought, "It couldn't be right if other people got hurt in the process. If I can't do what is _right_ to protect others... then I shouldn't have anyone to protect. I realized that having friends is wrong if I'm only going to make mistakes and hurt them. I'd rather be alone and learn how to protect people like a professional, the right way."

"You're contradicting yourself." pointed out Kirishima, "Kyouran was always your friend, wasn't he?"

Mizuha opened her mouth to speak, trying to deny his statement, but she found herself unable to because... it was true. She bit her lip and suddenly felt conflicted.

"You don't want to be alone." he concluded.

Mizuha didn't answer.

...

...

...

 _He had no problem making friends, he was fine socially. And then she was the complete opposite. If she were to be completely honest, she didn't want him to make any other friends. Was she too protective? Was she selfish? She didn't know._

 _Mizuha followed after Byakuren in silence._

 ** _It feels... a little lonely now that I think about it._**

...

...

...

It suddenly became clear to as to why she felt the way she did about Kyouran making friends. It was the fear of truly being alone. The fear became even clearer when she realized that she truly was alone now that Kyouran gave up on their friendship. A forlorn feeling enveloped her.

 _... It's my fault, isn't it? He just got sick of me and tossed me aside because I was always relying on him... that's gotta be it. I guess he didn't want to have the burden of having a coward as a friend... I don't blame him..._

She felt a pair of hands on her wrist that abruptly pulled her away from her thoughts. She gasped a little when she was pulled up onto her feet, wobbling a little once she stood. The warmth of Kirishima's hands left her once he pulled away.

"You can't let that stop you! If you don't like seeing others get hurt, then you have to get stronger to make sure that they stay safe. The first step is to accept everything and open up again!"

Mizuha's eyes widened in fear, she shook her head violently, "No, no, no! I-I don't want to... I'm scared that I'll still fail!" she said, feeling very small.

Kirishima saw the fear in her eyes and quickly placed his hands on her shoulders, beamed at her, "Have faith in yourself. Don't let the past bring you down, let it push you forward. If you don't try to protect people then you won't be able to."

Mzuha honestly didn't know how to respond to him, she could only stare at him as if he grew a third eye. The concept of trying seemed to foreign to her. Kirishima threw an arm around her shoulder and walked back with her to their seats.

...

...

...

 _... How did I end up spilling everything to him? And how am I allowing him to act all buddy-buddy with me? Jeez._

Mizuha started to regret not being _real_ friends with Kirishima.

 **"Aaand, the winner of the tenth match is Kyouran Byakuren!"**

* * *

 **Finally, Mizuha opens up to someone else! But her fight with Byakuren is still going strong!**

 **Thank you for the 100 followers!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!** **I look forward to your reviews!**


	18. Chapter 18: UA Sports Festival IV

By the time the two returned, the match between Todoroki and Midoriya already started. Despite insisting on staying with her, Mizuha kindly asked him not to and to just let her breathe a little. Her assured tone made him back down, and she sat down back in her usual seat.

Pieces of ice were scattered across Midoriya's side of the stage. Mizuha's eyes glanced at the big screen in front of her, the one that was focused on Midoriya, and saw how he was holding his right hand with his left. And when Midoriya's blocked another one of Todoroki's attacks, his face twisted in pain. Her eyes narrowed and she frowned at the sight of his fingers. They looked just like when they did the fitness test with Aizawa.

Todoroki created a sort of reverse ice ramp and charged forward. He jumped off just in time to avoid falling once Midoriya shattered his ice.

The match seemed to be one of endurance.

Mizuha leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms.

 _There is only so much damage you can take to your arms, Midoriya. As for Todoroki, there is a limit to how much we ice user can emit. You can get frostbite. However, you have something that can fix that. As the son of Endeavor, you also have a fire Quirk. You wanna fight Midoriya without using your **father's** Quirk? That's not his Quirk. It's **yours**._

Mizuha kept looking at two different screens during their entire fight because the cameras would focus on Todoroki and Midoriya at the same time, and she wanted to see how they were enduring so far. As far as she knew, Midoriya seemed to be getting more damage from his own Quirk than Todoroki's. The dual-haired boy wasn't able to hit him at all with Midoriya blocking and dodging his attacks.

When she looked at the screen focusing on Midoriya, while she couldn't hear anything he was saying she could actually read his lips. She wasn't able to read the full sentence before the one she actually could.

Everyone. Fighting. Win.

Those were the three words she read on his lips.

"And you're gonna win with half your power?!"

What he said seemed to have shaken up something inside of her because now she was looking at her hands, shaking.

Her classmates were all doing their best, giving everything they got for the event. While Todoroki was only using half of his strength to try and win the Sports Festival. That didn't seem right. That's when she realized that she was even worse. Mizuha was only using a third of her power to win. Even she knew that it wasn't right.

She wasn't giving it _everything_ she had.

 **"A solid hit!"**

Mizuha whipped her head up, just in time to witness Todoroki flying back from Midoriya's punch. It kept on going like that, getting pushed back after getting closer.

Midoriya must have said something particular to Todoroki since he wasn't reacting like he was earlier during their fight. Midoriya landed two consecutive hits and he wasn't fighting back. When he green haired classmate shouted something at his opponent, Todoroki reacted by emitting impressive flames from his body in just a few seconds. The ice on his body was beginning to melt away thanks to his fire.

The heat from his flames were even reaching the audience.

" _SHOTO!_ "

Mizuha recognized that voice she looked across, scowling at the Number Two Hero.

Endeavor was going down the stairs to get a bit closer to the stage, he was looking pleased.

"Have you finally accepted yourself!? That's it! Good! It all starts from here for you! With my blood, you will surpass me… You will fulfill my desire!"

Mizuha clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, "Geez, the heck?" she muttered.

 **"Endeavor suddenly shouts encouragement…? Such a doting father."**

Ice spread over all of the stage and Midoriya lunged towards him with a powered jump.

It happened so fast, but cement walls shot up to block both of their attacks. Mizuha squinted her eyes and covered her face when the shockwave from the explosion happened, and fragments of cement were flying everywhere. Everyone was blown away.

It took a while, but the dust was starting to settle down.

 **"W-what… was that? What the heck is up with your class?"**

 **"The air that had been cooled off thoroughly was suddenly heated up and expanded."**

 **"T-that's what created this explosion…? Just how hot was that!? And jeez, I can't see a thing down there! Hey, who won the match?"**

Midoriya was slowly revealed to be standing, backed up against the wall, but he slowly slid and dropped onto the ground, unconscious.

Shocked, Mizuha's eyes slowly looked at Todoroki, who was still standing inside the stage. He was announced the winner of their match and the crowd cheered for him.

 _... Damn, this is the power you've been hiding this whole time?!_

She shivered.

* * *

Mizuha let out a heavy breathe once she saw Kirishima fell, defeated.

 _... Man, Bakugo went ape shit crazy with his explosions. Poor Kirishima ended up unconscious from them..._

She was currently sitting in her designated waiting room for the next match. The only distraction she had to calm her nerves was the big screen in the room broadcasting the current fight on the stage. Her attention was absorbed from the fight, forgetting about the next fight that was coming up.

"Kirishima is immobolized! Bakugo wins!" Midnight announced.

Mizuha breathed in while standing up.

She wasn't sure if she was ready for this next fight. Kyouran is definitely not going to hold anything back, meaning she shouldn't either.

Mizuha hastily left the room, playing with her fingers on the way to the stage.

"Just pretend that you don't know him... ignore everything... just ignore..." she repeatedly muttered to herself.

* * *

 **"This is the final match of the quarter-final! These two are always together, they are childhood friends!"**

The screen displayed Mizuha and Byakuren's profile.

 **"From the Hero Course... Hyoumei Mizuha! Versus... also from the Hero Course... Kyouran Byakuren!"**

Instantly, the stadium was filled with more cheering and shouting. The two participants were standing face-to-face silently, waiting for the match to begin.

Mizuha refused to look at Byakuren's face, keeping her eyes just below his chin. She didn't want to see what kind of expression he was sporting, fearing his expression might throw her off in some way.

 _I need to get him out of bounds!_ Mizuha tensed.

 **"START!"**

Immediately, Mizuha rushed at Byakuren at full speed, watching him carefully. The moment Byakuren stood on guard, she swung her arm towards him, creating a large ice saucer that flew horizontally towards the white haired boy.

"How foolish." He spat, creating a tornado to counter her ice, shattering it apart. Mizuha quickly side stepped away from his in-coming whirlwind and charged straight towards him again. Byakuren shifted his eyes towards her, sending the whirlwind after her.

It was approaching her from behind, fast.

Mizuha gritted her teeth, and then made a small hop in her step. When she got off the ground, ice formed beneath her and rapidly directed her in Byakuren's direction.

His eyes widened when she literally lunged at him. He couldn't focus on two things at the same time so he stopped his Quirk and began defending himself. He threw up his arms in front of him and blocked her fist.

He pushed away her fist and aimed one at her face. She barely caught her balance that he threw off, and instantly dropped down to aim a kick at his feet.

Byakuren immediately realized that she was copying his move from when they were sparring together with Kirishima. The boy jumped to avoid her leg and landed before she was able to regain her position. Ruthlessly, he kicked her on the side. The hit sent her flying a few meters away, rolling against the cement on the stage.

 **"Whoa... that seemed a little too harsh Kyouran..."**

Mizuha stopped herself, slamming her fist down on the ground, and getting back up to charge at him once more.

 _I'm not getting pushed away this time!_

Mizuha attacked again, sending her ice towards him, except that they were more immense and stronger.

 _Hand to hand combat is the only solution to this fight. The bigger the ice, the difficult it is for him to shatter it due to the lack of oxygen he'll be taking away from himself. He might or might not be able to actually destroy the ones I've trained so hard to make! And if my ice is weaker, then he'll just shatter it!_

Byakuren avoided her ice.

 _He can't destroy ice with high density!_

Mizuha reached him again, and their hand-to-hand combat resumed.

 **"Wow, it looks like this is going to be a physical fight!"**

The two backed away from each other and stood in a stance, watching the other carefully. They were standing in a similar position. Their legs were apart with their right foot further back. Their right hand was opened, and positioned higher near the side of their face while their left hand was placed lower and a couple of inches away from their waist.

It looked like a rather strange position.

"Hmm... that looks _familiar_..." Thirteen spoke.

All the teachers then turned their heads, and looked at the dull-eyed instructor.

"They learned that from you, didn't they?" Snipe guessed before adding, "You have your two unique fighting styles in hand to hand combat. The one for offense and the other one for defense and caution."

"They both understand that their Quirks will continue to counter each other, creating more drawbacks rather than opportunities. They chose to settle the fight in an actual physical fight by taking up the more cautious stance. A close-range battle style that gives continuous hits to the opponent with quick attacks, as well as being well positioned to make up for slight mistakes. The particular aspects of this stance are sleights and being more nimble... in other words, they're being _extremely_ careful in this fight, especially since they know each other so well."

Eijin observed the two from a nearby screen. Byakuren seemed to be looking more serious than usual while Mizuha was looking a little desperate. They both exchanged blows but neither of them was backing down from the fight.

 _"Trauma..." Aizawa muttered._

 _"Hmm? What?"_

 _"Hyoumei is afraid."_

 _"Of course she's afraid. Who wants an incident like that to happen again?"_

 _Despite his bandaged face, Aizawa was able to give him a deadpanned look, "You're her uncle. I'm surprised you don't know a lot about your niece."_

 _An imaginary arrow struck Eijin's back. "Whaaa?"_

 _"You told me she had a trauma resulting from the incident, and that she was able to get better after five months."_

 _"Yeah, but she's still scared of any incidents that are similar to it. I can bet that she was a little shaken up when she heard about your condition after the USJ incident."_

 _"What were the water phases that she used during the incident?"_

 _"Um, it was gas and liquid. She wasn't very good with the solid phase yet."_

 _Aizawa fell silent for a moment, obviously thinking about everything altogether. It was starting to make sense now. The reason why she felt like she couldn't do it was because of repression. Indeed, she couldn't use it, and that was because she was unconsciously repressing her ability to use those two other forms. It was similar to repression defense mechanism when an individual is faced with anxiety. Repression was used to keep anxiety inducing thoughts away from the conscious mind to keep the individual 'happy'. In Mizuha's case, the cause of her anxiety was the gas and liquid form of her Quirk; the two forms that she used five years ago to protect her friends. It was a constant reminder and it caused her anxiety._

After Aizawa had explained it to Eijin, everything seemed to make sense.

Mizuha's uncle was aware of her fear that was accompanied by her lack of confidence to protect people. This repression along with her lack of confidence was the biggest obstacle combined that was preventing her from moving on and from performing to her highest potential. It kept dragging her down.

If she were to regain confidence in herself and her abilities then the repression would definitely disappear.

Byakuren swung once with his right arm, then attacked with his fists. Mizuha slapped his right arm away and backed away from him, and then ducked down to aim the lower part of her palm under his chin.

Byakuren grunted from getting hit. He staggered backwards, loosing his balance.

 _There!_

Mizuha shot forward and switched to the offense stance, cocking back her right arm and fisting her hand, and then aimed at his abdomen.

Just like her, he was sent flying back, but he caught himself with his Quirk. His body that dipped backwards towards the line was caught by a whirlwind that slowly balanced him back on his feet.

The fight was going no where. Every time one of them would get knocked back, their Quirk was used to stop them from approaching the boundary lines, and they would continue to fight after reaching the center.

For a split second, Mizuha saw Byakuren give her a scornful look, making her flinch.

Byakuren landed a hit on the side of her face, causing her to stumble backwards. He then kneed her straight into her guts, knocking the wind out of her. Before he could land another hit, Mizuha created a giant ice pillar between them to stop his assault.

Byakuren backed away just in time, "Damn it, so freaking annoying!" He growled before running around the pillar, however the ice began to shift and lean towards his side. Sensing the danger, Byakuren jumped away and propelled himself in the air with a large whirlwind.

The ice crashed down on the spot where he previously was.

When he landed, they both stilled again and panted.

It was going on too long.

Byakuren clenched his fists and glared at her from afar, "... You have no right to be here... no right at all." said Byakuren, loud enough for her to hear before walking towards her, slowly increasing his pace until he started running.

Mizuha grimaced, shakily taking a step back from him.

"A damn coward who gets other people hurt!" He screamed at her.

Mizuha tensed just as he reached for her, hesitating to either block or move away from his reach. Byakuren grabbed her the front of her shirt, and threw her over his shoulder, slamming her roughly against the ground.

"You're so stupid!"

She let out a pained groan.

"You'll never be able to be a Hero!"

Mizuha quickly scampered away from Byakuren before he could reach her.

 _Just ignore him!_

She lowered herself and kicked him back away from her. The white haired boy fell back on his rear. The blow was harsh and he was coughing a little as he rose back up on his feet.

"F-freaking damn hazard to everyone around you!" He managed to stay between his coughs, "Everything was your fault! All your damn fault!"

Mizuha's movements became sloppier with every word, creating more openings for Byakuren. As much as she tried to ignore him and tried to listen to the crowd instead, she _couldn't_ ignore him at all.

"You're running away from all your problems!"

He was playing dirty. The guilt was building up within her and he was throwing it all in her face.

"You can't protect anyone!" He shouted.

"STOP IT! STOP! _**STOP!**_ " Mizuha screamed frantically.

They were both beaten up, and now they were breathing heavily from their fight and from their words.

* * *

Kirishima rushed back to his class and quickly looked down at the stage.

The moment he woke up from his match, he quickly thanked Recovery Girl and ran back to stands. He knew who were currently fighting on the stage, and he didn't want to miss any of it. Especially since the fight was going to be a little more personal.

"What did I miss?!"

"Kirishima! You're awake!" said Kaminari cheerfully.

The redhead quickly gave the lightning user and thumbs up before taking a seat next to Midoriya. The green haired boy quickly filled him in on the current situation of the fight.

"There's no way they're not getting their personal feelings involved... not after what happened before the event started." Uraraka said, clearly not liking the way how the fight was really going on.

Ashido frowned, "... Look at Hyoumei." she said while pointing at the screen focusing on her.

She was clutching the front of her shirt with her hands and her knuckles were turning white. Everyone saw how pained she looked, and it looked like she was about to cry. Kirishima noticed it was similar to the expression she had during her outburst in the hallway.

As the audience cheered and encouraged them, Class 1-A was not comfortable with witnessing the fight between the two. It was like watching the continuation of their argument and they could only watch the feud play out.

Worried, Kirishima clenched his fists on his lip.

 _"We've known each other since we were eight years old. Our siblings are engaged to each other."_

It was frustrating to not be able to help her now.

* * *

"It's all your fault!"

 _I know it is!_

"You're the reason my sister ended up in the hospital!"

 _I'm sorry!_

"You're the reason why my little sister grew up without her sister for five years!"

 _... I'm so sorry._

"You're the reason my parents cried that day!"

Before she knew it, she found herself on the floor, facing Byakuren above her. She tried fighting back against his hold, but was too weak from all the guilt inside of her. He straddle her and stopped her from trashing around.

He loomed over her, "I don't want you attending U.A if you can't forgive yourself. I don't want a cowardly Hero having my back who will fail to help me when I need it. I don't want to be friends with someone who is _scared_ to _protect_ people." he hissed.

Mizuha felt her eyes sting.

If it was someone else who said it then she wouldn't be as affected from it. However, this was coming from someone who stuck to her like glue. It came from someone who she cared for, someone she wanted to protect, someone who she felt like was the only person that was keeping her from falling apart.

And now, he was throwing her away because she was scared to protect others. It hit her so strongly that she felt like he was telling her she had no right to care for him or to be his friend.

Byakuren violently punched her in the face, hoping to knock her unconscious. Mizuha's eyes shut, and her head to turn to the side.

 _But if I leave... who will protect you? What if they fail too? Am I supposed to wait for a Hero to help you..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _... when I could just do it myself?_

 _... I can do it, right?_

Mizuha heard Midnight's heels clicking, walking towards her.

 _... Maybe I wasn't wrong to help them._

Byakuren huffed before turning around and walking towards stairs of the stage.

 **"Midnight, is Hyoumei down?!"**

 _I want to be a hero. I want to be a hero that protects people so that others don't have to feel sad. I want to protect the happiness that people bring to one another._

 _I made a mistake... but is it really alright to forgive myself?_

 _ **"You went to Recovery Girl to ask for some help. She said you were holding back! And what did you do?! NOTHING!"**_

 _ **"You're too scared and that's been clouding everything!"**_

 _Can I really just put the past behind me? Is it really okay? I'm scared._

 _ **"Have faith in yourself. Don't let the past bring you down, let it push you forward. If you don't try to protect people then you won't be able to."**_

Mizuha opened her eyes and stared at the blue sky. The clouds floated together but did not prevent the light from shining down below. It was bright and clear. Everything seemed so clear now just like the sky above her.

"Hyoumei, can you move?" Midnight asked, standing above her, waiting for her response.

It seemed to clear that it somehow brought her to tears.

Mizuha sat up very slowly, sniffling a little.

 _I might have been right or I might have been wrong, but I need to accept it. I need to grow from that experience. I made a mistake, but I won't let it happen again. I will make sure that I can protect people._

 _And right now, I need to prove I have the ability to be a hero!_

"I'm not done." Mizuha rose up back to her feet, feeling insulted by the way how Byakuren was already done with the match.

Mizuha stomped her foot on the ground, " _I SAID I'M NOT DONE!_ " she practically screamed.

Byakuren froze in his tracks.

 **"HYOUMEI IS STILL STANDING EVERYONE!"**

Byakuren suddenly felt alarmed. There was something in her voice that told him that she was _awake._ He spun around and looked at her, and noticed how she had determination in her eyes.

Something was triggered inside of her.

Midnight hurriedly ran back to her post and allowed the fight to continue. Mizuha quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeve and hardened her resolve. She had to do this now before she even thought of backing down again.

Byakuren slumped a little before suddenly charging towards her, both of his fists enveloped in small tornadoes.

He didn't know what was up with her, but he didn't want to find out by giving her a chance.

"Just fall already!"

When he was only a few meters away from her, he saw her take a step back and she pulled her right arm back.

Their eyes made contact with each other for a split second. Onyx hues burning with determination meeting puzzled light purple ones.

Then, she swung it down in his direction.

Byakuren gasped with wide eyes and moved away just in time to avoid her attack. Behind him was a rumbling sound that slowly died down near the boundary line.

He slowly glanced back, gaping at the sight behind him.

There was a straight line that went towards the line behind him, it looked like something was drilled into the floor all the way to that end. That most noticeable thing about the dented cement was the fact that it looked soaked around it.

 _... high pressure water..?!_

Byakuren whipped his head back in front of him, backing away while stumbling.

"... I'll prove it to you! I can do this!" Mizuha shouted at him, letting out the true form of her Quirk with a burst of adrenaline.

Surrounding and swirling around her was water in different phases. It was a maelstrom of steam, water and ice. It looked like they were all clashing together in order to be the one that their user would choose for her next attack.

"... Holy shit. Are you kidding me?!" Byakuren exclaimed before making himself fly into the air. He needed to get away from her!

Mizuha jumped up, creating a small platform of ice and she rode a huge wave of water that rose to the same height as Byakuren.

 **"Hyoumei and Kyouran are engaging in the air! And, is this really Hyoumei's Quirk?! Eraser, I thought she was an ice user!"**

 **"No... her Quirk is Water States. She can manipulate water in whatever state she wishes by changing the waters' temperature."**

 **"... man your students are full of surprises."**

When she launched high pressured water spheres at him, he aimed at the water and intended to make it fall apart like her ice. Unfortunately, the water that split apart reconnected itself with its rest and struck Byakuren once it reached him.

Instantly, he was knocked off his own tornado, falling down towards the stage.

Mizuha kicked the ice platform down at Byakuren, successfully striking him down to the ground.

The boy struggled to get up while Mizuha froze the water and literally slid down the ramp of ice.

Once he got back up, he inhaled deeply before releasing an immense tornado. Mizuha yelped as she felt herself getting lifted off the ground. She firmly placed her hands on the ground and froze them stuck to it.

 **"I can't believe it! Kyouran actually created a natural disaster! But Hyoumei is still on the ground; she's not giving up!"**

 _He's not thinking straight! I threw him off guard! Now he's being careless, he knows that he can't keep up this tornado once he starts lacking oxygen._

Byakuren stopped his tornado when he realized she wasn't giving up. He breathed in heavily, trying to take in as much oxygen as he can.

 _I can't think of anything... this unexpected development is preventing me from coming up with any possible moves. How can I turn the tide? I need to think, quickly!_

Mizuha melted the ice from her hands and ran towards Byakuren.

 _H_ _e hasn't realized that he's near the boundary line. Now's my chance!_

Mizuha emitted a large wave of water, similar to a tsunami. Its width literally was the boundary lines from both sides, and it was coming down fast.

 **"Hyoumei made her own natural disaster; a tsunami! ... unbelievable!"**

Byakuren immediately tried to run away from the incoming wave, but the moment the water reached him, it turned into steam.

He was surrounded by white steam. Dense steam.

 _I can't see anything...! Wait._

Byakuren paled when he realized what she was doing. He immediately dispersed the steam with a small whirlwind, but was instantly faced with ice rushing towards him.

When he moved away from it, he felt something grab his shirt near his shoulder and he was roughly pushed down to the floor, landing on his back.

His light purple orbs slowly widened when he realized what just happened.

When her water evaporated into dense steam, Mizuha ran towards his left side while making it seem that she was in front of him by directing her ice in that particular direction. The moment he moved away from it, he unknowingly jumped right into her way, and was shoved down pass the boundary line.

Mizuha looked down at him, "I win!" she panted.

"Kyouran is out of bounds! Hyoumei wins!" Midnight announced.

The audience cheered loudly (while some booed because of her previous match).

Mizuha slowly loosened her hold on his shirt and dropped, sitting in front of him. Her entire body was shaking from the adrenaline. She couldn't believe how easy it was to use her Quirk properly. The girl looked over her head and looked at the stage. The proof was right there.

 _I used it properly... I can't believe it..._

"Can you two walk? Do I need call in the robots?"

Mizuha jumped in surprise and looked at Midnight. She didn't even hear her approach.

Byakuren was the first one to speak after propping himself up with his elbows.

"I'm really out of it, but I think we'll be fine."

Mizuha blinked, _we?_

She looked at Byakuren. He was smiling at her with a hand towards her.

"Help me up?"

Mizuha stared at his hand, too shocked to say anything or to move.

 _... are you kidding me?_

The platinum haired girl trailed her eyes from his hand all the way up to his face. He was grinning and his eyes were expressing something sly as he raised his eyebrows at her. Mizuha quickly got back up on her feet and pulled him up to his, and as soon as was he ruffled her hair.

She didn't even hesitate. Mizuha's arms shot forward, hugging him tightly.

Midnight gushed at the two, "How youthful!"

Byakuren returned her hug, patting her head like as if she was a kid.

He snickered, "You cried on TV. Pfft~"

"Shut up."

 **"With Hyoumei's victory, she advances to the third round! And with that we've got our final five!"**

* * *

The two supported each other to Recovery Girl's temporary infirmary. While they did both did get beat up pretty bad it was Byakuren who ended up being the _injured_ one in their fight.

He congratulated her for winning the match.

And then he started to apologize to her.

"I'm sorry I hurt you when I said all those things. In fact, I kind of meant what I said but also didn't. Everything I said was kind of expressing how I really thought, but at the same time I also exaggerated to hurt you."

Mizuha listened to him quietly.

"I told myself I would help you slowly go back to the way you used to. I tried to make you open up to one person as a start. I thought I had enough time to help you move on until the Sports Festival, but when I went to your house that day... and I saw that you were already planning on changing schools after your expulsion... I just snapped. I had no idea you had given up so easily, and it made me angry. I was pissed at myself for being too soft and that I didn't try hard enough. I purposely made you think I didn't want to be friends with you in order to have you think I had a reason to be furious with you. I was literally forcing you to move on, and while people would think ill of me for it... I think I made the right choice... I really hope I didn't make a mistake."

His voice got smaller, "I'm sorry for hurting you Mizuha."

She couldn't help but smile a little, butting her head lightly against his, "I forgive you. You didn't make a mistake. You helped me. So, thank you."

 _All that matters is that everything is alright now._

As soon as Recovery Girl healed them, they sat next to each other, and Mizuha watched as the little lady added a small patch on his right cheek.

"Mizuha~ you know you can leave, right?"

"Nope, I'm staying here."

Recovery Girl laughed, "I see that you two are good friends."

Byakuren grinned, throwing an arm around her shoulder. Normally, Mizuha would cringe and try to pry him off, but instead she chuckled and leaned towards him playfully.

It was as if the fight between them never happened at all.

The door opened.

The white haired boy looked at the door and instantly lightened up, waving his hand to greet them, "Hey, Kirishima!"

Kirishima greeted him back, "You doing okay?"

The white haired boy smiled and waved his hand to dismiss his concern, "I'm fine."

Mizuha looked down and away from her classmate. She felt a little out of place, knowing that Byakuren was the one he was worried for. It's as if she went back to square one with Kirishima. She simply sat on the stool, rubbing her index fingers against the rubber as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Byakuren immediately noticed how she fell silent. He then plopped a hand on her head and leaned his cheek on it.

"But most importantly, Mizuha is fine too." he said cheerfully.

Before they can prolong any conversation in the infirmary, Recovery Girl quickly shooed them away and told them to go back to their seats and watch the rest of the fights. Byakuren and Mizuha thanked her and left the office together with Kirishima. Mizuha was the last one to leave the office, shutting the door behind her. It was quiet. Until she was suddenly, and literally, swept off her feet.

She let out a cry of surprise when she felt her body get squished against another.

"I'm so proud of you!"

Kirishima gaped, "K-Kishoukei-sensei?!"

How odd it was to see his classmate get hugged by their strict math teacher. She was pulled up against him while he bounced a little, clearly happy.

Mizuha started trying to claw at him, "Old man! Damn it! Let me go!" She cried while pushing away his face.

Byakuren chuckled in amusement. The redhead looked at him in search of an explanation for the current display in front of them.

"Kishoukei-sensei is Mizuha's uncle."

Kirishima nodded and looked back at the two until he completely registered what Byakuren told him. He did a double take.

Mizuha whipped her head towards Byakuren, "You big mouth!" she accused with a finger which he responded with a silly face.

Eijin finally set her down, smiling at her. He ruffled her hair affectionately, "Good job on overcoming your problem. I'm really proud of you."

Mizuha turned red from his praise, "... thanks." she muttered.

"Now, this is a big step for you and I don't want you backing down, you hear me? Do your absolute best from now on, alright? Do so in a way where your brother will be proud once he wakes up."

She realized that she forgot about her brother in the hospital. Instead of imagining a negative scenario of getting blamed by her brother, she started thinking about how nice it would actually be to see him smile at her. She wanted to be hugged and praised by her beloved older brother.

Mizuha nodded, confidence shinning in her eyes.

"Good luck on your next fight."

Eijin wished her good luck on her next match and gave her shoulder a squeeze before leaving her with her classmates, going back to his seat with the other teachers upstairs.

Mizuha sheepishly caught up with Kirishima and Byakuren.

"... sorry about that." She practically whispered, embarrassed from the display that just occurred.

Before they could start walking, however Byakuren spoke up.

"Mizuha, listen to me — you too, Kirishima. You should hear this— no more fakery, okay? Don't stop yourself from doing what you want anymore." Byakuren said seriously, looking at her eyes.

"... what do you—"

Byakuren cut her off, "You think I don't know what you're thinking when you look at others? When we were in middle school, I noticed the way you used to look at the other group of friends in class. You always have this longing expression on your face. You want to be surrounded by people like them but you stop yourself from doing what you want."

He couldn't remember the number of times he saw her like that. During breaks; during lunch periods; on the way home, she would occasionally stare at the people who were around her age that hung out with their friends. He knew that she knew that she couldn't rely on one person in her life forever, having friends in her life was important. But she always chose to solely rely on him.

"It sucks y'know? Being the only person that is able to see who you truly are. I can't share what I see with others because you don't want people to know. You refuse to let anyone in. You're always refusing to show who you really are. Sometimes I find myself questioning whether or not you really know yourself anymore. Basically, what I'm trying to say is, I want you to be happier. You're practically my sister and I want you to be happy everyday, and not just at home or when it's just the two of us. Yes, I know you're not going to be exactly the same. I know that for a fact. We've grown up. And, whether it's going to be a good thing or bad thing, it still remains to be seen, but your outside personality that you maintained for the past five years is definitely a part of you now. But please don't suppress how you truly are, it's not fun that way."

"Mizuha was at a loss for words. She never knew that he felt that way about her and this revelation made her feel empathetic towards him. His feelings reached her and she understood them. His feelings made her feel a little guilty.

She nodded, "Alright. I'll be more honest with myself from now on."

Byakuren pouted, crossing his arms. He wasn't very convinced. This made her frown a little, feeling insulted once again.

"Prove it to me, now. Do or say something that you really want in front of me" Byakuren pointed his index at the redhead standing next to him, "He will be our witness!"

Kirishima visibly tensed, "Wait, what?"

 _"Go away. Stop acting like we're friends because we're not. We never were. You're the one that's been forcing a friendship to exist. I never wanted that."_

Mizuha stepped in front of Kirishima, looking straight into his eyes. If she was going to be more honest with herself, then she was going to do the first thing she wanted. Her bow was quick and short, "I'm sorry for playing pretend with friendship."

When she straightened up, her words wouldn't come out as easily as she thought they would. Years of holding her tongue was making her hesitate to speak out loud. She didn't know why, but speaking honestly was a little embarrassing since it felt a little foreign. She opened her mouth and held up a finger, thinking about what to say to the boy in front of her who was staring back at her curiously.

Deflating, she slumped and dropped her head.

Then she stomped her foot on the ground, startling both boys.

She looked up, breathed in deeply and finally said it.

"I'm sorry for what I said this morning! I didn't really mean it! I lied! I actually do want to be friends with you. You're a nice guy, you're so friendly and I appreciate you thinking of me when I've been nothing but... kind of a liar since we started schoolI mean I _was_ honest sometimes, but not really? Uh... like I'd really like it if we were friends? If that's okay? Um-" and she continued to ramble on.

It was pretty amusing to see Mizuha act so flustered with her words, it was pretty much the opposite of her previously desired image of herself. She kept talking about what she really thought of everything during all the events, including today.

"-and I _want_ to stay in this school. I don't want to _leave_!" She ended, panting.

...

...

...

Byakuren smacked his lips, cutting the silence, "Welp, that was more than I expected. See what happens when you bottle up too many things?"

Mizuha glared daggers at him, red faced. She was aware that she rambled it, and it wasn't necessary that he rubbed it in her face. While she was busy keeping her attention on the white haired boy, the other one finally responded.

Mizuha found herself enveloped in a tight hug. Her body immediately stiffened from the contact out of surprise. She was confused as hell. Why was the redhead hugging her?

Kirishima laughed a little, patting her back a few times before pulling away, "Don't worry! I still considered you my friend even after what you told me."

She relaxed.

Relief was written all over her face but then was immediately replaced by a tiny smile. Suddenly, Byakuren caught her in a headlock and started down the hallway to head back with Kirishima walking next to them. The way back was filled with laughter and protests.

* * *

The trio arrived just in time to witness Iida and Todoroki step onto the stage. As Present Mic starting giving introductions for both participants, Byakuren released Mizuha from his lock and went to sit. Kirishima followed him and encouraged Mizuha to come sit with them. The simple act of asking her to sit with them was enough to make her follow in suit without hesitating.

Mizuha sat in next to Kirishima and the moment she leaned back in her seat, Ashido; who was sitting behind her, leaned towards her.

"Are you okay, Hyoumei?"

"Um, yes. Recovery Girl healed me..."

"No, not that." she pouted.

"Um..." Mizuha was lost.

"Kyouran made you cry!"

 _Eh?_

Byakuren blinked with a smile, "Hm?"

Yaoyorozu sighed, "You guys were fighting about your argument from this morning. Honestly, Kyouran you should know better than to make a girl cry."

Uraraka puffed her cheeks, "Yeah, you made her cry in front of everyone! Including those who are watching on TV!"

"That wasn't very nice." Tsuyu pointed out.

Byakuren held up his hands in defense, "Whoa whoa! Hold on a sec!"

Most of the girls in the class were now giving him a nasty look for making their fellow female classmate cry. He tried searching for help from his other classmates, but they looked away leaving him to fend for himself. Some of them were actually siding with the girls on that one.

"No, it's fine. I deserved it." Mizuha rubbed the back of her head, and then explained how it was a problem that needed to be faced since it couldn't go on any longer. She didn't exactly say what it was since she wasn't ready to spill everything just like that. Her explanation was enough but not too much to reveal anything. Byakuren mentally praised her as a saint for saving him from the female army of their class. The girls were somewhat satisfied with the explanation but it didn't stop some of them to give the boy stink eye.

* * *

As soon as Todoroki was declared the winner of the match, the match brackets were displayed on the screen to keep the public updated. Mizuha's body started slouching back in her chair and slowly sank lower in her seat when she saw the right side of the bracket. She completely forgot who was also on the right side with her. and he was currently on his way to his match.

"Someone is going to be fighting an extra match."

"It's Tokoyami, Kacchan and..." Midoriya trailed off.

Mizuha raised her hand, "And me." she finished with her finger pointed at herself.

Oh she was absolutely thrilled about going up against the mad bomber. She wasn't exactly terrified of the possible match (because she could end up fighting Tokoyami instead) with Bakugo, it was just that... it was Bakugo. Her heart started beating in anticipation for her next match. Bakugo was determined to win the event with all he got so half-assed power wasn't going to cut it if she planned on going against him. It was the perfect opportunity to finally show everyone her true power and stand out a little.

... okay, maybe she was a _little_ anxious about the fight.

Mizuha groaned loudly, a characteristic that was new to everyone. She slumped further into her chair again until she looked ridiculous in her seat, and then simply dropped on the floor.

Kirishima laughed, "Do your best. He isn't going to hold back." he said, patting her head a few times.

Mizuha let out a shaky breath to calm her nerves and stood up.

 _Not even five minutes and I'm forced to head back down to the waiting room. Good lord._

Sensing her unease, Uraraka leaned forward in her seat and looked at Mizuha from the side. She understood how the platinum haired girl was feeling. After all, she went up against the angry bomber during the first round.

"Hyoumei." The brown haired girl called.

Hearing her name from the side, Mizuha curiously looked at the shorter girl with an attentive look.

Uraraka beamed a smile and gave her a thumbs up, "Good luck! Do your best!"

She didn't know why, but hearing an encouragement that didn't come from Byakuren was actually pleasant. After accepting to move on, she allowed her heart and mind to be more open and attentive. If she was still stubborn and close minded, she would have still heard Uraraka's encouragement, but wouldn't really think much of it. Simply allowing her words to literally go in through one ear and out the other after a minute. In contrast to Byakuren's words, his encouragement would have been the only source to keep her fired up in a fight since he was the only she let in. Now it was different, Uraraka and a few others were wishing her good luck.

Mizuha gave them a quick nod, "Thanks."

Mizuha then turned around and started down the hallway.

It was brief and practically non-existent. However, he was always attentive when it came to her. He had grown to notice even the smallest details about her just as she did with him.

Byakuren watched her figure leave with widened eyes.

 _She smiled a little... it wasn't forced; fake or towards me... it was a genuine little smile._

* * *

After Bakugo and Tokoyami's match, Present Mic added a three minute break for Bakugo's next match. The match he needed to win in order to proceed to fight Todoroki for first place.

Mizuha was pacing around the room, breathing in heavily and telling herself to do her best during a whole minute. There was no doubt in her mind that the possibility of beating him was very slim. It was obvious. But the idea of forfeiting the match was obviously out of the question.

If she was going to go down then she might as well go down fighting.

Mizuha glanced at the screen and noticed how there was only a minute left before her match would start.

 _I wonder how this fight is going to turn out._

Bakugo was arrogant, violent and aggressive. He was always ready to explode just like his Quirk.

Mizuha was like her Quirk too. A mess of different things.

* * *

 **"Well, now. This might as well be fate's work! This next fight is between the two who are representing our students! Bakugo Katsuki vs Hyoumei Mizuha!"**

Mizuha was met with Bakugo's intimidating glare. She merely scowled thinking how he was already trying to take her down with his eyes alone when the match didn't even start yet.

He was just standing there with his hands in his pockets, glaring at her.

The ash blond was facing a girl again, but this time it was going to be different. Unlike Uraraka, he recognized her as the combat type from the fights and class training that he witnessed until now. She was able to deal with close range and long range combat.

Unlike Todoroki's ice, Hyoumei's ice took on precised forms. She would manipulate the water into a desired shape and then change its temperature, freezing it the way it was to create those precised forms. However, whatever power she just displayed earlier didn't seem to be her forte; in fact, it looked rather chaotic and something from a spur of the moment.

Whatever reasoning she had, it didn't matter. She'd better fight him with everything she had so that he could _crush_ without any doubts.

"Bakugo."

His eyes narrowed.

"Come at me with everything you got. Don't you dare hold back on me." she practically ordered him.

The boy merely huffed in annoyance.

As if he was going to.

She wanted to give this fight all she had, and to do so it was going to require something was going to really _force_ her to fight. Like Uraraka, she wasn't going to back out. She was prepared to fight against him knowing full well how strong he was.

Bakugo removed his hands out of his pockets, "Don't blame me if you get hurt, Mole Face."

...

...

...

"The fuck did you just call me?"

 **"START!"**

 **-x-**

 **I was having a hard time trying to find Bakugo's nickname for Mizuha. I was originally going to go with Crybaby but then I realized it had to be something that was a constant feature on Mizuha.**

 **It completely slipped my mind that she had a mole on the left side of her mouth.**

 **The next chapter will conclude the Sports Festival.**

 **Aye, it's October 16! Happy birthday to Kirishima and Tetsutesu~**


	19. Chapter 19: UA Sports Festival V

As soon as the match started, Bakugo was the one to make the first move. He zoomed in on her with his explosions, making her instinctively react with an ice attack.

Upon seeing the ice rush at him, the male student immediately forced himself higher in the air with the help of a one handed explosion, and using the other to blow her ice to pieces. After that, he landed on his feet with ease and continued towards her.

 _Bakugo's the close range type. He's going to try and reach me no matter what._

Mizuha let out a surprised yelp when Bakugo used his explosions to accelerate towards her. He reached for her and she saw these little sparks emitting from his hand, meaning he was about to unleash one on her.

 _It's in his hands. I know his Quirk resides in his hands. But how does that work?!_

The girl swung her arm upwards, creating an ice wall between them, only to have it shatter instantly once it made contact with his Quirk. His explosion created smoke a round them, blinding them temporarily.

However, this didn't stop the boy. He clawed the smoke away and appeared in front of her. Mizuha was faced with his hand that released an explosion in front of her as she backed way, blinding her.

Then she heard clothes rustling from above her.

 _This is the move he used on Midoriya during our first class with All Might...! That means he's behind me now!_

Mizuha quickly twisted her body just in time to push his hand away. The explosion missed but she was pushed back from the shock wave. She placed her palm on the ground along with a knee on the ground and one foot on the cement, stopping her body from moving too far away.

She didn't have time to think at all. Bakugo was aggressive and he was literally fighting like it was second nature. That's how skilled he was. And she didn't even know where she was placed on the strength spectrum. She was no stranger to combat... but Bakugo was making it seem like she was.

"Oi, oi. Idiot, are you screwing with me? Are you seriously holding back against me?!"

She was facing the strongest student in her class for crying out loud!

 _Excuse me for my petty ice attacks!_

The fight between the two representatives kept going on with no one getting a hit on the other. Mizuha kept blocking away his explosions with her ice while Bakugo never left any openings for her to attack him. It was frustrating. She couldn't fight him head on like Kirishima because she didn't have a hardening Quirk. The only time she could was during the brief moment between when the ice wall would emerge and then shatter. But Bakugo was making it impossible for her to reach him.

"DIE!"

Mizuha wasted no time in raising her arm once again to create her ice.

But her arm stopped mid-away, freezing in place.

 _Cold._

"Too slow!"

Mizuha got blasted away from him back towards the boundary line. Her eyes widened when she realized she flying straight to the edge.

 **"Bakugo landed the first hit!"**

She reacted instinctively.

Water immediately formed and rushed past her, and formed a wall behind her. It then froze and it stopped her from passing the line, ending up in a slouched position. When she saw Bakugo closing in on her, she changed the water's temperature and melted it. The water returned to its liquid form and began zooming in on him.

Mizuha wasted no time in getting up and melting the frost on her arms with warm water, stopping the frostbite. She couldn't keep using her ice for her attacks, she needed to change the temperature when needed. Her mind was telling her to learn to depend on her other states.

 _I have to stop letting him come after me! It's just making me panic while thinking about my next move. **I**_ _need to go after him!_

Mizuha dashed towards him, commanding her water to go to him. The ash blond haired student propelled himself in the air, creating smaller explosions to disperse the water, but it kept coming after him.

"Annoying!" He shouted before unleashing a big explosion, evaporating her water with the heat of his explosion.

The boy turned to see the girl rushing at him with water spheres in her hands. Bakugo glared at her and swung his arm upwards, releasing his Quirk on her. As he did so, Mizuha swung both of her arms upwards too and released an explosive-like water blast. Both of their explosions' shock waves pushed each other away from the other.

Bakugo stilled for a moment, surprised from her attack. He wasn't expecting her to imitate his explosion with water of all things.

 **"OOH?! Hyoumei imitated Bakugo's explosions with water! Her water manipulation is impressive!"**

Mizuha cursed, "Not enough! I need to concentrate the water in a single point and release it for impact..." she mumbled to herself before charging on ahead again.

Mizuha went towards him at full speed while extending an arm to the side. Her water began to shape into a one-handed hammer. Once the form was accurate, she froze it and gripped her ice firmly.

She tossed it in his direction and used the same hand to create another water-explosion sphere.

Bakugo easily shattered her ice creation, and was suddenly caught off guard from the sudden burst of speed she picked up. She appeared in front of him and landed her own explosion, unfortunately; on his side because he was still quick enough to move away from it.

Bakugo staggered to the side upon impact but wasted no time in getting back his footing and swinging his hand towards her face. Mizuha's eyes widened when his palm came in front of her, sparking dangerously.

Mizuha was blown back from his explosion, but not without freezing his shoes to the ground. She knew it was futile to keep him still. But she just needed time to get back up and continue fighting, even if it was for a second.

Bakugo freed himself from the ice trapping him.

She was definitely giving everything she had to this fight.

The girl created an ice pillar beneath her feet that forced her into the air, barely avoiding Bakugo's attack. The ice melted and followed after her in its liquid form and then it shaped into a platform above her. Once she made contact with the ice behind her, she kicked back against it and shot down fast. She cocked her arm back, and her water became liquid. Mizuha made a throwing motion towards the ground, commanding her water in form of high pressure water to zero in on Bakugo.

The ash blond raised his hand in the air, in her direction.

 _Come on! Come on!_

Mizuha barely had enough time to freeze the water beam when he released a huge explosion. The girl nimbly stepped onto her ice and leaped away downward just before it shattered. His explosion caused a cloud of smoke, blocking each other from the other's sight. But Mizuha remembered exactly where he was.

A small ice ramp formed beneath her to catch her fall. The sound of her movements caught the boy's attention and he immediately flew into the air towards her.

"FOUND YOU!" He shouted.

Mizuha back stepped into a cloud of dense steam that hid her from his sight.

Bakugo growled in annoyance, "Freaking hiding!" the bomber used one hand to blow away her steam, revealing her in an alarming position.

Mizuha created an impressive ice hammer that was wielded with two hands. She was in the middle of swinging her ice weapon directly towards his side while he was in mid-air. The short amount she took to create such a thing was impressive.

Mizuha let out a cry and swung the hammer towards him with all her might and releasing her hold on the handle once it made impact. Bakugo was almost late to block her attack. He raised his right forearm and firmly placed his left hand on the surface of the ice once it collided with him.

"... Fuck!" he cursed while wincing as he was sent flying backwards.

The sound of Present Mic's hands slamming against the table was heard through his mic.

 **"Hyoumei created a giant hammer and literally sent Bakugo flying by swinging it!"**

He broke the hammer into pieces with the same kind of explosion he used at the end of his match with Uraraka.

 **"But Bakugo has already destroyed her impressive ice hammer!"**

Mizuha then staggered on her feet, feeling just a bit from using too much of her Quirk.

 _Bad idea... I can't keeping doing this like that. I have to do this wisely while keeping my limit in mind._

Uraraka stared in awe, "She's actually holding up against Bakugo..."

Knowing that Mizuha was the more combative female of the class, it somehow eased everyone. They didn't have to be worried about seeing a one sided match. She was a skilled fighter, that much was obvious from all the hero training they did.

Kirishima leaned forward in his seat, "She is capable of so much more with her full Quirk!"

"She even copied Bakugo's explosions!" exclaimed Hagakure.

Byakuren leaned in his seat and kept a thumb between his teeth, nibbling on it. The white haired boy was keeping his eyes glued on the fight. This was the first time he was seeing her fight with everything she had, there was no way he was going to miss any of it. He was sure that Bakugo was going to win this fight, but seeing her fight with everything she had meant that her purpose in this match was different. She wanted to be victorious in something... but he just wasn't sure what it was.

"Hyoumei's Quirk is kind of artistic, letting her manipulate the water and rendering it in different forms. She's even capable creating imitations of certain Quirks like Kacchan... water must be concentrated and released to create a sort of shock wave... I wonder it she's a hybrid..."

Byakuren was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Midoriya muttering his notes out loud. He glanced at him curiously, peeking at his notebook, and saw a bunch of notes about Mizuha's Quirk... he even saw a drawing of her dressed in her Hero costume in it. How the hell did he draw that so quickly?

Byakuren shook his head.

 _Leave it Midoriya to take notes on every little hero related thing._

Hyomei let out a shout, unleashing a more powerful water blast. Bakugo grunted blocking the water with his arm, but then his eyes widened and he stepped away quickly. His palms were getting wet, and that wasn't good.

Bakugo cursed and started wiping his right hand on his pants, drying them.

This was not left unnoticed by the girl.

Hyoumei stilled for a moment and so did Bakugo. _Why did he wipe his hands? His hands are essential to his Quirk, right? His hands..._

Something clicked in her head.

Hyoumei grinned, she was going to see what was up with his Quirk, right now!

Without using her Quirk, Hyoumei ran towards him, he however responded by raising his left hand. He wasn't using his right hand to attack.

The girl braced herself for the incoming blast, reaching forward for his palm. She didn't care what kind of damage she was going to suffer, she wanted to figure out his Quirk.

The moment the explosion went off, her ice manifested between them. In that brief moment, Mizuha moved forward and reached for his hand. Bakugo gritted his teeth and tried moving away, but she already did what she wanted to accomplish. Her right hand swiftly slapped his palm.

He retaliated by kicking her away from him. He did not use his Quirk.

Mizuha gasped for air when he landed the hit on her abdomen. Her body landed far away from him, rolling a bit before coming to a stop.

 _He didn't use the hand that got wet. When I swiped his other hand he didn't use it either, instead he used physical force._

"Damn it..." Bakugo hissed, annoyed.

Mizuha got back up on her feet and held up her right hand in front of her face. It was just as she thought, there was something on his hands. It was a fluid...

She sniffed her palm.

She cringed and pulled away.

"It's sweat!" She exclaimed, half-horrified and half-amused, wiping her hand on her pants furiously.

Bakugo's body trembled. She figured out a weakness. The most logical weakness. Her water could wash away the sweat produced from his palms' sweat glands. He never thought he'd be facing this type of situation. Obviously, this weakness was out of his control, but it was indeed frustrating. And to put herself in danger the way she did for the sake of testing her theory... how clever.

And she was still standing after getting hit from his powerful explosions.

She wasn't weak at all.

... Perhaps she was worth a match with him.

Bakugo smirked at her menacingly, and flew towards her at full speed.

She hardly reacted in time, he was too fast.

Bakugo released a powerful explosion on her.

The blast sent her flying back a few feet and she landed harshly on her side. Groaning, Mizuha rolled on her back, almost looking like she was giving up.

 _... Oh crap. I think I just triggered something._

"GET BACK UP AND FIGHT, HYOUMEI!" he yelled, but it seemed more like a warning.

She saw him preparing to either pin her down or to attack her. While laying down, Mizuha quickly forced a pillar of ice to shoot her body up in the air. Her body tilted forward, making her look like she was standing in the air. The same pillar suddenly had an ice beam shoot up above her. When her body tilted forward enough for her shoes to touch the ice, Mizuha wasted no time in shifting her position, kicking back against the ice, shooting downwards.

Bakugo whipped his head up just in time to get violently rammed into, he grunted and grabbed the back of her shirt. He flipped her above him and threw her down harshly to the floor with an explosion.

"Gah!" Mizuha let out a pained sound when her back slammed against the floor.

 _... The stronger he gets when he feels like the enemy is stronger._

 _I guess I should be glad that he thought of me like that._

 _But it's just as I told you that day, I'm really not that strong, even with my full Quirk. You're obviously the stronger one here. You're the true representative, not me._

 _This is just me doing the best I can with have I have so far._

 _And I can see that **I can** do so much more if I continue and not give up._

 _As much as I'd like to actually win against you, I know for a fact that just isn't possible._

 _But..._

 _Thanks for not holding back, you forced me to not hold anything back and to do my best._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

Despite Mizuha being able to hold her own against him and doing her best, she got sluggish near the end from overexerting herself which ended up with Bakugo to be the victor by literally throwing her out of bounds. The thought of pinning her down like he did with Tokoyami was out of the question since she could still use her Quirk if she was immobilized. Throwing her out of bounds was the only solution.

... well, that orher ending up like Uraraka.

Mizuha nearly fell towards the stairs when she landed.

Midnight grinned and pointed her flogger-whip towards Bakugo, "Hyoumei is out of bounds! Bakugo wins!"

The audience cheered loudly for the boy. As for Bakugo, he stared at her form that was struggling to sit up before turning around and leaving the stage. His red orbs shifted towards different parts of the stage. There was rubble from the times he caused explosion near the ground. There were cracks in the ground from her high pressured water and some parts were drenched with water. Fragments of her ice were scattered across the stage, melting under the sun.

It was a mess.

Bakugo stepped down the steps, clenching his hidden right hand in his pocket. He could still feel the sting of her hand against his when she slapped it.

 _... she fights smart._

Weakly, Mizuha tried sitting up, but found it difficult when she found no strength at all.

"... Wow, I haven't felt like _this_ in a looong time." The girl chuckled to herself before dropping back down.

"Hey!"

Mizuha jolted in surprise when she saw Byakuren's face above hers. It _almost_ gave her enough energy to run away for being startled.

The white haired boy grinned and looked at Midnight who was about to call in the robots. He gave her a thumbs up, "I got this! I'll bring her to Recovery Girl!" he said before dropping down to his knees, and flinging her upper body forward.

A whirlwind swooped beneath her.

Mizuha let out a cry when she felt her body get lifted off the ground, "What the hell?!" and not even a second later she was dropped after getting flipped in mid air. She landed on Byakuren's back safely as he locked her legs to his sides.

Mizuha sighed, too exhausted to comment about the way he used his Quirk.

"Alright! Let's go to the infirmary!" said Byakuren, cheerfully before walking back the way he came.

"... I'm not that hurt." she muttered.

"Hmm, maybe not but you still got another match to fight, remember?"

"Wait what?"

"You're going to be fighting Iida or Tokoyami for third place!"

Mizuha dropped her head on his shoulder, "... Damn it."

* * *

...

...

...

The fight for third place never happened. Class 1-A's class representative left because of an urgent family call, resulting in Tokoyami, Mizuha and Iida to share the third place.

Mizuha found herself standing next to Tokoyami on the third place podium. They were currently hidden from the ground, preparing to rise to reveal the results of the event. In second place was Todoroki, he was staring down at the floor below the podium, he was lost in his thoughts.

Meanwhile, staff people finished locking all of the restraints on Mr. Number 1: Bakugo Katsuki (who was currently unconscious)

Why the restraints?

Well, Bakugo was obviously going to be furious at Todoroki. Their match for first place did not end the way Bakugo hoped it would. Mizuha knew that Bakugo didn't want anyone to hold back against him and Todoroki wasn't an exception, especially after seeing his flames in his match with Midoriya. Bakugo ended up in first place by defeating Todoroki... who didn't really use his flames on him. She could still remember how Bakugo rushed over to him, practically shouting at the unconscious boy how he didn't want to win this way. She couldn't imagine what Bakugo would have done if Midnight didn't knock him out with her Quirk.

Mizuha jolted when she felt the podium shake from Bakugo's aggressive attempts to reach Todoroki on the right.

 _Looks like he's awake._

 **"MMMMPPFFF!"**

 _Man, he is piiiissed!_

On cue, the podium rose to the surface, revealing the four students on the podium to everyone in the stadium.

When All Might began handing out the medals, he stopped in front of the two third place students, looking a little unsure.

"Unfortunately, we have only one medal available for third place so—"

"Tokoyami can have it." said Mizuha without hesitation.

Her teacher and classmate both looked at her, surprised at how quickly she made up her mind. She didn't look like she was going to change her mind anytime soon.

 _Iida or Tokoyami can have it, but definitely not me. I don't think I deserve that medal compared to my fellow third runner ups, who gave everything had from start to finish. I didn't... so I can't really accept that medal anyway. It would leave a bitter taste in my mouth._

All Might turned to Tokoyami, who lowered himself to receive the medal, and held up the bronze medal, "Congratulations Young Tokoyami, you sure are strong."

"You honor me too highly." said Tokoyami after standing up straight.

All Might then pulled him in for a formal congratulatory hug, patting his back a few times, "However, in order to fight well against different types, you must not only rely on your Quirk. If you train your own strength more, then you'll have more options when you fight."

"Yes, sir."

All Might shifted towards the girl, "Congratulations, Young Hyoumei."

Mizuha looked up at her teacher, curiously wondering what he was going to tell her.

"Medal or not, you've proven yourself as a strong one today. You seem to have overcome a personal obstacle which has now made your path clearer on becoming a hero. I can definitely see that you have changed somehow."

Hyoumei's eyes widened a little, "... how can you tell?"

All Might held her, patting her back with one hand and simply she stood in his arms limply, "Heroes can recognize when another struggles with their personal obstacles because they tend to radiate with much more confidence once they overcome them."

Hyoumei blinked a few times after he released her.

Her teacher gave her a thumbs up, "No more holding back now."

...

...

...

Mizuha grinned a little, "Gotcha."

* * *

.

"Good work. So there will be no school tomorrow or the day after. I'm sure the Pro Heroes who watched the Sports Festival will want to recruit you, but we'll consolidate everything and announce it when you get back. So rest well, and look forward to that."

"Yes, sir!"

Aizawa looked at Hyoumei, who stared back at him knowingly. After stepping off the podium, the deal she made with her homeroom teacher on the first day of school instantly came back to her. She was waiting for this moment ever since they changed back into their uniforms. And now it was time.

"Hyoumei, come see me outside for a moment." said their homeroom teacher before walking towards the door.

Mizuha breathed in and slowly breathed out, calming her nerves as much as possible. She pushed her chair back and followed her mummy looking teacher outside the classroom. When she closed the door behind her, she found Aizawa standing by the door, waiting for her. The girl stood in front of him silently, waiting for him to speak...

Waiting for his decision...

 _"I want to stay in this school. I don't want to leave!"_

 _I really do want to stay here, there's no other school I'd rather be in. I want to study here. I want to study where my brother did and I want get to know the people who are currently around me._

Mizuha clenched her fists tightly by her side.

...

...

...

"You've kept your end of the deal. You get to stay here."

Mizuha visibly relaxed, her hands relaxing and trembling a little.

"But don't think you can take it easy just because you've proven that you can use it. I'll be expecting you to use it during training, pushing yourself just like how you do with your solid form."

Mizuha nodded with a sweat drop, "... Yes, sir."

"You can leave now, rest well during your days off." he said, turning around to walk to the teachers' office.

"Um, Aizawa-sensei! Can I ask you something?"

Her teacher stopped and turned around to look at her.

"What is it?"

"... U.A is supposed to help us become heroes... meaning I had three years to work on my Quirk. Why couldn't you have just let me go with the flow and hope that I could use it properly during those three years?"

The black haired hero closed his eyes, sighing behind his bandages, "You are correct. This school is designed to help you work on being a hero, but tell me; how can we help you if you refuse to help yourself?"

 _... So that's it._

"I hope that answers your question."

It certainly did. He was absolutely right. If she refused to help herself, how can others help her? Her argument with Byakuren was a good example. He always trying to help her, but she didn't want any of it by staying away from everything.

Mizuha nodded and bowed down, "Thank you so much for giving me a chance, Aizawa-sensei! I won't let you down! I promise!"

* * *

"You get to stay?!" Kirishima beamed happily.

Mizuha grinned while rubbing the back of her neck, "Yeah."

"Awesome! I'm so glad you get to stay here with us!" Kirishima exclaimed cheerfully, before throwing his arms around her in a tight hug.

When she returned inside the classroom; surprisingly, she still found a lot of her classmates sitting in class and talking about the event that just ended. Of course, Bakugo left in a hurry, probably in a rush to throw his gold medal into the sea or something. She told Kirishima and Byakuren about her expulsion being lifted and that she was allowed to stay in U.A High School.

Mizuha stumbled a little, surprised from the sudden hug, "Whoa!"

 _Is it just me or are hugs pretty frequent today?_

Byakuren laughed a little, enjoying the sight while resting his cheek in the palm of his hand as he propped up his arm on the desk. But then he lowered his arm and called Mizuha, catching both her and Kirishima's attention.

"I think you have to say something to someone before we head home."

As Kirishima released her, Mizuha tilted her head to side in confusion. Who was he talking about? She had to say something to someone? Who? What did she have to say—

 **OH.**

Mizuha's mouth made an 'o' with slightly widened eyes, "Right... I'll be right back." she said before running out of the classroom and into the hallway.

She was hoping _that_ person didn't leave school yet.

Mizuha bumped into a couple of students on the way but didn't bother apologizing to them. Apologizing to _them_ wasn't her priority at the moment. Her dash stopped when she skidded to a stop in front of a large door. She looked up at the giant door, reading '1-B' on it. The girl wasted no time in sliding the door open, instantly being greeted by a silver haired boy. Mizuha jumped in surprise and took a step back meanwhile the boy in front of her was quickly registering what was in front of him.

His face twisted into an irritated one.

"Hah?! What do you want, rude girl?! You here to disrespect someone else?!" Tetsutetsu shouted at her.

"Uhh... listen—"

She was cut off by Tetsutetsu who started talking over her, making her back down and shut her mouth. He was clearly _still_ upset with her. Mizuha decided to ignore him and peek behind his shoulder. She had to stand on her toes since he was taller and because his bag was in the way. To her surprise, she found the person she was looking for right behind the angry metal-boy. They looked equally surprised to her in front of their classroom door.

"Mokuen! I need to talk to you!"

Tetsutetsu grabbed her shoulder, "No way!" he said, pushing her back in a way that wasn't too rough to make her fall back.

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at Tetsutetsu, annoyed that he was preventing her from speaking with Mokuen. This was way too important for her to just let go, she needed to apologize and set things straight with the maroon haired girl.

However, seeing how desperate and serious she was, Mokuen was the one to reach out to her by pushing Tetsutetsu aside and going past him. Tetsutetsu gaped at his classmate when he saw her approach Mizuha in a hurry.

"Ah- Mokuen?!"

The maroon haired girl smiled at him sheepishly.

"Sorry Tetsutetsu! I appreciate you looking out for me, but Hyoumei and I need to talk!" Mokuen said before grabbing Mizuha's wrist and dragging her somewhere a little more isolated, but not too far from both of their classes.

...

...

...

 _Man, her classmates care about her a lot... especially that Tetsutetsu..._

"I'm sorry!"

Mizuha blinked.

Why was Mokuen apologizing to her? Mizuha was the one who mistreated her...

The platinum haired girl looked confused as hell, "W-Why are you apologizing?"

Mokuen, who was bowing down, stood up straight to look at her in the eye, "For five years, I held a grudge against you. For five years, Shu felt guilty for being the reason you couldn't use your Quirk properly."

 _What?_

"He said that you always wanted to be a hero... but because of the incident where he got hurt... he felt like he was to blame for your Quirk problem. But I knew that it wasn't his fault! I thought you were somehow just creating attention for yourself, and making it seem like you had a Quirk problem and because of that Shu was feeling guilty and sad. But... I didn't think that maybe you were suffering too. It never crossed my mind that you actually were having a Quirk problem... Until I-I... until I overheard you and Kirishima in the hallway on the way to the bathroom... I heard everything... and I had no idea you felt the way you did. And I just made you feel worse by mentioning Shu's name. I'm so sorry."

Again, Mizuha was once again speechless.

She didn't know what to say...

"... Um, I'm sorry for disrespecting you the way I did?"

Her plan was apologize. She wasn't prepared for another truth reveal.

"That's nothing compared to how I hurt you..."

Mizuha sighed, crossing her arms. It was clear that Mokuen had forgiven her already, but she was feeling even worse now.

"Look, let's make it even. You forgive me for what I did to you, and I forgive you and make your brother feel better."

"Eh?"

"I'm gonna need Shu's cellphone number. We got a lot of things to talk about. Can you help me?"

* * *

 _Shu ┐(￣～￣)┌_

 _Saved._

Mizuha closed her phone and slipped it into her pocket. Mokuen was more than willing to help her get in touch with an old friend and she was grateful for that. After having a talk with Shu, she was going to ask for the numbers of the other. She needed to talk to all of them.

When she returned to the area of her classroom, she found it quite crowded in front of the large windows. Students from different classes were crowding in front of the windows and whispering about something. Mizuha tilted her head to the side while walking closer to her classroom's door. Just then, Byakuren and Kirishima exited the classroom, with the first holding her bag.

"What's going on?" Mizuha asked curiously, hoping to find an answer with them.

Byakuren shrugged, throwing her bag at her, "No idea."

"I wonder what it is." Kirishima wondered before trying to push him way through the crowd to look at the current center of attention.

Mizuha caught her bag and slung it one her right shoulder and followed him through the crowd.

"Who is that guy?

"He's talking with the principal..."

"Do you think that guy is like a chairman?"

"That was a terrible pun."

Mizuha finally pushed her way through. She sighed in relief and slowly looked, from above, down at the ground floor for anything attention worthy. She squinted her eyes when she saw three figures below. One was the principal, judging from the tiny from and tail. Another was... her uncle? What was he doing down there? And finally, the most noticeable figure.

Someone was in a wheel chair.

Kirishima and Kaminari both bumped into her from behind.

"Man, everyone is soo pushy!" Kaminari groaned, "This is just like that false alarm!"

Kirishima laughed a little, agreeing with his fellow classmate. He would know. He was practically brought along the human wave with him when all the students ran through the hallway.

The red head then asked Mizuha if she knew what was going on. His red eyes squinted to try and see and identify the three figures if he could.

"... No, but... there's someone in a wheel chair down there..." she squinted her eyes, "... it's a guy."

Kirishima titled his head, confusingly, "A wheel chair?"

 _With... platinum blonde... hair?_

Mizuha tensed.

Her uncle noticed the crowd of students staring at them, spotting Mizuha among them. Eijin tapped the guy's shoulder, lowering himself to their height and pointed directly at Mizuha. The principal also turned to look up at where he was pointing.

Then, the person in the wheel chair slowly moved his head upward, following the direction of her uncle's finger. They stared directly towards Mizuha's direction.

...

...

...

The girl somehow forgot how to breathe.

 _Is this real?_

 _... please tell me it is...!  
_

Mizuha dropped her bag and turned around, and then proceeded to shoved her way out of the crowd, aggressively. Many student protested her rough actions and called her out for it.

Kirishima stared at her leaving form in shock, "H-Hyoumei?! Your bag!"

Mizuha ran as fast as her legs could allow her. She locked out all of the noise and ran straight to the stairs, tripping over her own feet two times. Her body was shaken up from what she just found out and it was literally throwing her off balance. Many students who were on their way to the school's entrance to leave were watching her dash through the halls. Mizuha panted from her running and from the overwhelming disbelief. When she arrived at the corner where the stairs was just around, she turned, extending her right arm and grasping onto the railing on the side. She slowed down from being held back and then leaped off the top of the stairs.

She barely caught her fall, nearly stumbling into the wall. But she didn't care, she needed to get down there now!

When Mizuha finally got down to the first floor, she turned around the corner, nearly stumbling forward again, but caught herself and ran straight for the doors.

 _This is real, right?!_

Mizuha rammed her shoulder into the doors and practically made them slam against the outside walls behind it. Her feet made two steps forward outside allowing her to take in the sight before her completely. There sitting in the wheel chair was a guy dressed in a black sweater and grey sweat pants. He looked very familiar.

There was no doubt about it.

She opened her mouth.

" _ **SHIRAN!**_ "

The guy in the wheel chair slowly widened his eyes when he heard the name leave her lips. _His name_.

Matching onyx eyes met the other, taking in the sight of the other person standing meters away from them.

Without hesitation, her legs bolted towards Shiran.

With whatever strength he could muster, Shiran forced himself to stand up from his wheel chair. Having not used the strength in his legs for five years, it was certainly a challenge to stand up on his own. His body was screaming at him, telling him that he couldn't stand on his feet just yet. But his mind was made up, Shiran was using his own willpower to stand.

"Wh-What... what the hell..?!" Shiran managed to say, feeling emotional.

Shiran pushed himself out of his seat and attempted to retain bodily balance.

There, running towards him, was his little sister who was supposed to be nine years old. However, the girl running at him hardly looked the age. She looked like a teenager! He fell asleep with that knowledge, only to wake up and feel reality hit him hard in the chest. The reality he woke up to was so different. How much did he miss? How much was robbed from him? How much has she changed? Has anything stayed the same?

"Mizuha...!" whispered Shiran, managing to take only two steps before loosing any strength at all. The sudden rush of emotions and disbelief toppled the muscle strength in his legs.

Eijin tried to catch his nephew, but was obstructed by the wheel chair in front of him. But he realized he didn't have to once he saw his niece.

Fortunately, Mizuha already reached him, throwing her arms around the older boy to embrace him and to catch him.

 _This was real._

The two siblings fell to the ground. Mizuha was on her knees, leaning backwards as her brother leaned his weight on her. His hands trembled as he wrapped his arms around the smaller girl. Shiran's face was tucked away in the space between her neck and shoulder while Mizuha's was buried into his shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're safe!"

"I'm so glad you're okay!"

They both started crying.

"I'm so sorry you got hurt. I didn't want that to happen ..." Mizuha sobbed against him.

Shiran pulled away from her while sniffling, "Silly, don't cry because of that..." he begged, carefully wiping away her tears with his thumbs.

Mizuha jutted her lip and pointed at his face, "Then why are you crying?!"

"I-I'm not!" laughed the older boy, effortlessly trying to wipe away his own salty tears with his clothed shoulder.

"Yes you are!"

With a laugh, Shiran stared at his little sister affectionately, holding her face gently in his hands and bumping his forehead against hers, "I'm crying because it's so unfair how I missed five years of so many things... but I'm relieved that you're still my little sister no matter how much time passes."

Without another word, the older Hyoumei hugged the younger one, tightly and practically suffocating her.

During their embrace, many students walked by and some from Class 1-A came down to see what got their classmate to leave in a such a hurry. They didn't expect to see her sobbing against a stranger... that resembled her.

This time, it was Byakuren's turn to run towards the stranger.

He was crying too.

"Holy crap... are you serious?!" He exclaimed and caught both of their attention.

"Is that you, Ren?" Shiran gasped.

The relationship between the two was similar to a brotherly one. How could it not? These two were going to be brother-in-laws if not for the incident in the past.

Mizuha allowed her brother to release her from her hold in order to let Byakuren get his own hug from the recently awoken from comatose man. Eijin was then the one to finally stop their scene and remind Shiran to get back in the wheel chair. The two students did not hesitate to help him back in his chair.

"Can't I stay here a bit longer?" Shiran pouted.

The principal chuckled at his childish behaviour but shook his head, "Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to stay here any longer. You caused enough of an uproar in the hospital for this reunion and I believe that it's time for you to return."

Byakuren and Mizuha looked at the principal.

"Uproar?" they inquired in unison.

Eijin rolled his eyes and placed his hands on the wheel chair's back handles, "This guy was so determined to get here when he woke up. He was causing a ruckus for the hospital's staff once he saw Mizuha on TV. Surprisingly, they allowed him to leave but not without surveillance."

He pointed at the black car just beyond the entrance. An impatient looking man was waiting there, arms crossed and with his foot tapping the floor.

"I'm awake... I'm not broken or anything... sheesh." Shiran muttered to himself.

Eijin sighed, "Anyway, your parents are at home; they went back after Shiran came to U.A."

Then the platinum blonde haired male quickly asked if Mizuha and Byakuren wanted to go back with him, but this idea was immediately rejected by Eijin. He said that Mizuha and Byakuren both needed to rest up from the long day and that they could visit him during their days off. As much as Shiran wanted to protest, Eijin didn't allow him to by turning his chair around and directing him towards a car that was waiting for him. Mizuha was fine with the idea once she actually realized that she was, indeed, quite exhausted from the event.

Then both Mizuha and Byakuren apologized to their principal for any trouble, which the little creature waved it off as nothing and simply congratulated them on Shiran's awakening and hoped that Byakuren's sister would awake soon as well. They both respectfully bowed and thanked him as he... or it left.

Mizuha faced Byakuren, smiling at him with hope, "I hope Kyougyoku wakes up soon..."

The boy returned her smile with his own and nodded, "Yeah, me too."

Everything seemed to be falling back in place the way it should be. Mizuha was able to set aside her fear and problem, Shiran woke up and now it seemed like the only thing left was to wait for one more person to awaken from their slumber.

Everything was surely going to be fine.

"HEYY!"

The two jumped at the sudden call, immediately looking at the owner of the voice. Kirishima was waving his arm at them while holding Mizuha's bag in his free hand. They saw Midoriya, Uraraka, Kirishima, Ashido and Yaoyorozu coming to them.

Byakuren beamed at everyone, "Hey!" he greeted cheerfully while waving his hand.

Ashido was literally bawling when she arrived in front of the two along with Uraraka. Apparently, Midoriya; being the hero fanboy he is, easily recognized Shiran as the Pro Hero who was reported to be in a comatose state. This information made both girls cry, feeling sad but yet happy for the two.

Yaoyorozu was silently wiping away tears, with her fore finger, from the corner of her eyes while saying that the reunion was so touching.

Kirishima walked over to Mizuha, handing her the bag that she abandoned in front of him when she ran off.

This time, Mizuha showed him a real smile that came from her heart, "Thank you, Kirishima."

That caught him off guard. Her smile was like a hidden treasure and very rare.

It was a magnificent smile.

 _Is this... this is the first time I've seen her smile._

...

...

...

"You cried three times, Hyoumei." teased Kirishima.

"... did you have to point that out?"

 **-x-**

 **And with that, the Sports Festival is now _dooone_!**

 **There are only a few more chapters left before this book is done!**

 **Just like Hirokoshi Kouhei (BNHA's mangaka), I named my OCs based on their character and quirk.**

 **MIZUHA means Water Champion and HYOUMEI means Bright Icicle (I couldn't think of anything else).  
Water Champion: She has full control over her water in any kind of state.  
Bright Icicle: Her constant use of her solid form (Icicle) and for her overall intelligence (Bright)  
**

 **MIZU (water) HA (champion) HYOU (icicle, ice, freeze) MEI (bright, light)**  
 **水覇氷明**

 **BYAKUREN means White Lotus and KYOURAN means Wild Tempest/Storm.**  
 **White Lotus: Flowers are pretty, Byakuren is a pretty boy with white hair.**  
 **Wild Tempest/Storm: His quirk.**

 **BYAKU (white) REN (lotus) KYOU (wild, mad) RAN (storm, tempest)**  
 **怳嵐白蓮**

 **MOKUEN means Silent Grudge and HIKARI means light.  
Silent Grudge: The grudge she had against Mizuha.  
Light: Her quirk which makes her move at the speed of light.**

 **MOKU (silent, quiet) EN (grudge, show resentment) HIKARI (light)  
** **默怨耿**


	20. Chapter 20: Mizuha's Start Line

**Blame school for the lack of update.**

* * *

The way back was a different one. For once, it wasn't just Byakuren and Mizuha's voices that were heard while walking. Midoriya, Ashido, Yaoyorozu, Kirishima and Uraraka were walking with the two and they were all talking about the event that just passed, complementing each other here and there. Out of habit, Mizuha restrained herself from talking and simply listened to the others talk. She simply chuckled a few times and listened quietly. Her silence did not go unnoticed by Byakuren, who wrapped an arm around her shoulder and smiled brightly. She responded by giving him a confused look as he started boasting about her Quirk, saying it was amazing to see it again.

Still, hearing him talk about her Quirk that way made her proud of herself.

Having no form of interaction with the girl before, the green haired boy was quite timid when asking her about her Quirk. Answering him did not come without hesitation. Mizuha sheepishly admitted she wanted to have an upper hand during class training if she ever had to go against her own classmates, earning a smack behind her head from Byakuren.

He then threw his arm around her shoulders and started to aggressively poke her cheek with his finger, "Must you be so stingy?!"

Mizuha scowled and tried to pry him off her, "Well, excuse me for keeping a low profile so I can get good grades!" she argued in her defense.

"You're terrible for wanting to play dirty!" he poked her cheek faster.

The girl simply rolled her eyes, "Ah, shut up." she muttered before firmly planting her palm on his face and shoving it against his own cheek, successfully pushing him away from her. Crying out in surprise, the boy nearly stumbled into Uraraka from the force of her push. The brown haired girl let out her own cry of surprise before placing his hands on his back, balancing his body.

 _Oops, maybe I pushed a little too hard?_

Midoriya sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "I-I mean you don't have to if you really don't want to! I'll admit that I'm asking out of my own curiosity but I think it would be nice to let us know how you fight. That way, during paired hero exercises, working together might be easier..." the boy muttered while shifting his eyes away from her but then immediately waved his hands in front of him to dismiss the idea if she really wasn't interested in sharing.

Mizuha raised an eyebrow. She never thought about the teamwork part when it came to her Quirk. She was so used to fighting with Byakuren at her side that communicating almost seemed unnecessary considering how well they knew how the other one thought during a battle. Their teamwork during the Sports Festival was a perfect example of it. It's true that, during the second day of school, her teamwork with Todoroki seemed fine, but that was only because she went in to fight Byakuren by herself and Todoroki said he would only help if she needed backup.

She never exactly fought with other people before... so how would should she do in teamwork?

She didn't even notice Kirishima jog around her to the opposite side of Byakuren. He grinned at her, "Coooome on! Share with us!" he said before nudging her arm with his elbow amicably.

Byakuren smirked, leaning closer once again, "Sharing is caring!"

Mizuha whipped her head towards him with a scowl, "What the hell... that only applies to food!"

The white haired boy chuckled, "That's what _you_ believe."

The platinum haired girl let out a defeated sigh, "Alright fiiiine, but I'm only saying this because you asked. I won't preach my Quirk as if it was a glorified religion."

Ashido beamed, bouncing in her step, "The mysteriously distant girl finally opens up!"

Mizuha opened her mouth to explain but then narrowed her eyes as Ashido's words reeled in her mind. She look at her pink classmate with confusion written all over her face.

"Mysteriously distant...?" she inquired.

Uraraka laughed sheepishly, "Ashido came up with that name..."

Midoriya, Kirishima, Byakuren and Mizuha stared at the other girls curiously.

Ashido pouted, "Well it's true! Hyoumei is well... she's as quiet as Todoroki and she's just as invisible as Hagakure. One second she's around and the next she disappears! Don't deny it! You do it all the time. You kinda make it impossible to talk to you with the way you keep your distance..."

All the guys' eyes turned to her. She especially felt Byakuren's knowing gaze. Mizuha frowned and gaze at the floor, finding a crack in the pavement suddenly so interesting.

Uraraka interjected Ashido's explanation and continued with her own, "You're the only girl in class that hasn't communicated with anyone. We thought it was because you were shy. But you got along so well with Kyouran, we saw it with our own eyes! We spotted you a couple of times with him! You were different from when you were at school! You were like a protagonist in an anime!—"

Byakuren slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. An _anime character that sits by the window and acts all uninterested but is in reality quite different? Dear lord._

Mizuha stared with a straight face. But her thoughts betrayed her calm demeanor.

 _What the heck?! Did I seriously seem like that?! What... that was the opposite of what I wanted! Oh geez man. I wanted people to turn a blind eye... not find me interesting._

"And the fact that you were called out by Aizawa-sensei also added to the fact that you were super mysterious!"

Ashido nodded enthusiastically, "You're also strong! There was so much about you that was unknown and you were also distant—"

"— and thus Mizu-chan was dubbed Mysteriously Distant Girl." cut off Byakuren with a grin.

Yaoyorozu smiled apologetically at Mizuha, "I'm sorry if it seems like we were talking behind your back... there wasn't any bad intention we were just curious is all."

Mizuha raised a finger, "When you say _we_... you mean—"

"All us girls." Ashido answered.

Byakuren bursted into a ball of laughter, no longer restraining his amusement. Mizuha slowly directed her eyes and stared at the laughing boy with a nasty look in her eyes, mentally promising to hit him with the same ice hammer she created against Bakugo. The white haired boy was currently oblivious to the dark look that was directed at him.

Kirishima and Midoriya took a step away from Mizuha, feeling her irritation radiating off of her. They were no stranger to detecting irritation thanks to a certain angry bomber.

Yaoyorozu then quickly brushed off the current topic, "Never mind that. Let's go back to when you were about to tell us about your Quirk, I'm sure all of us would love to hear about it."

With another sigh, Mizuha shrugged her shoulders.

"You probably already have an idea. My Quirk is not actually just ice. I have the ability to manipulate water in any desired state by changing its temperature. For example..." she muttered her last words while turning to look at Byakuren. Once he felt eyes on him, he turned to look at her.

Byakuren's head was instantly drenched with water. The boy paused in his walk and stood there, unhappy.

Everyone gasped in horror and watched as he slowly wiped off the water off of his face, revealing a very dark look.

Byakuren glared at her, "Mizuha..." he warned.

The girl merely smirked, "Calm down."

"Soo... I can changed the water into steam meaning a gas state."

Byakuren started hissing in pain as the water started evaporating, "Ouch! Ouch! AH-! Hey! Mizuha, that's too hot!"

The girl ignored his complaints and motioned her index finger towards her, commanding the steam to gather around her finger in a swirling motion.

"Unlike regular steam, this one won't just evaporate and disappear very quickly. With enough training, I am able to maintain its form without loosing any part of it. It can be quite difficult to do, as such it takes a lot of concentration to maintain it. The bigger the volume of the water the more difficult it is to do so."

Kirishima hummed as he pieced this information with the steam during her fight with Byakuren, yet found himself impressed when remembered how much water was used for it. It was very tall and large enough to reach the side extremities of the area.

Byakuren reached the top of his head and touched his hair, and proceeded to frown when he felt it was slightly frizzy. Then, water drenched the tips of his hair. He sighed exasperatedly, "Come on, enough. I'm not a a lab rat."

Again, she ignored him and asked every to look at his hair. Once all eyes were on him, they witnessed the water slowly become frosty and then completely frozen. The left side of Byakuren's hair actually had a pseudo icicle hanging from his hair due to a water drop freezing before it slipped off his hair completely. Then that icicle started to fidget up and down, making his frozen hair move along with it.

Uraraka giggled at the sight.

"As it is still water, I can still manipulate it."

"Cool! So you can actually pull Kyouran thanks to that little icicle, right?" asked Kirishima only to have a scoff in response.

"Nope. Byakuren is too fat for my icicle. I can't move him." she replied while restraining her small laughs.

Byakuren rolled his eyes, "Can you stop now?"

Midoriya closed his notes and smiled, "That's a strong Quirk. You have so many options during a fight."

"I'm still impressed that you imitated Bakugo's explosions and faced him head on against his... which are the real deal!" Ashido exclaimed.

"And you're also no stranger to hand-to-hand combat!" Uraraka added.

"Yeah! That's super manly!"

Yaoyorozu placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure that now that your personal obstacle has been overcome you can further improve yourself in order to become a good hero. Don't be afraid to reach out to others if you need help." she said with an encouraging smile, slipping into her role of Vice President of Class 1-A.

Mizuha might not have told everyone her whole story but she was able to make her classmates understand that her problem was a personal one. A problem that now seemed resolved during the Sports Festival.

Mizuha nodded with a small lopsided smile, "Yeah, I got it."

* * *

At some point during their walk, Mizuha and Byakuren announced that they had to take another route to catch their bus, leaving Ashido and Kirishima together since Uraraka, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu had already went their separate ways. Goodbyes were exchanged before the pair walked away side by side.

Kirishima smiled and started walking off while talking about a certain topic with his pink classmate... until he noticed she wasn't walking next to him.

Curiously, he turned around and he found her staring giddily in the leaving pair's direction. The red head sighed, marching back to his previous spot to see what exactly was causing her to get all excited. He lazily scanned the view in front of him to find anything worth getting excited for. He didn't really see anything, all he saw was Mizuha and Byakuren walking side by side with the taller boy occasionally looking at the shorter girl with a teasing grin which ended up with Mizuha staring up at him, annoyed. He saw her stomp her foot in his direction threateningly which made Byakuren flinch in surprise and laugh a little. Then she looked away, still annoyed. The other simply walked closer to her and bumped her side lightly.

"They're so cute together!" Ashido squealed gleefully, "Don't you think, Kirishima?!"

"... Again with this?"

"I totally ship it!" she clasped her hands together.

Kirishima sighed. He thought that the thought of the two not being together was made clear when Mizuha shoved Byakuren away from her on the second day of school. Perhaps it wasn't clear enough? Or maybe it was just him.

 _"Basically, what I'm trying to say is, I want you to be happier. You're practically my sister and I want you to be happy everyday, and not just at home or when it's just the two of us."_

Kirishima shrugged, "Then you'll probably be disappointed." the redhead muttered.

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing."

* * *

Mizuha and Byakuren parted ways, separating at an intersection.

It allowed Mizuha to finally have a moment for herself.

Mizuha quietly observed her surroundings. It was one of those rare moments where she wasn't wearing her headphones on the way home. She decided to keep them around her neck out of respect for her other classmates who were talking to her.

The sounds around her were clear. She could hear a couple of kids running and laughing, probably on their way back from school. A dog barked behind a gate she walked past, she instinctively turned her head to look at the animal but was not startled by its barking. She turned away from any further barking and looked back in front of her. Her lips parted slightly at the sight in front of her. She wasn't sure when they appeared but here they were. A group of students were walking before her, chatting and laughing with each other.

... A sight that brought slight envy.

But why envy when she was the one who made things end up the way it did?

She shook her head and turned a corner. Home was close by.

Mizuha had no idea if she was capable of having what those students had. She only knew that Byakuren embodied all of it for her.

 _... and maybe it's time that I stop leeching off him._

As she searched for a way to make it possible, she almost forgot the most important thing.

Kirishima. He helped her take a real first step.

She created a false image of herself, making herself a liar. All for the sake of keeping people at a comfortable distance. She made sure to keep Kirishima at that particular distance... but now it seemed like that distance was smaller or maybe nearly gone. She just needed to—

Mizuha chuckled to herself, "And I just needed to talk." she affirmed, dropping her head and breathed out loudly through her nose, "So simple yet so difficult for difficult me."

 _... maybe I can leech on Byakuren just a little longer until I can actually walk on my own two feet... social wise._

Mizuha arrived in front of her door and didn't even bother looking at the lid as she reached to flip it open. Her index and flicked the lid upwards and she quickly snatched the key out of its hiding spot. She looked at the silver key and turned it the right way before slipping it into the keyhole of the door standing in front of her. She listened carefully for a sound that told her that she successfully unlocked her front door. Once it was heard, she removed the key and wasted no time shoving the key back into its little home.

Mizuha gripped the doorknob and then turned as she push the door open, revealing an illuminated area.

She stepped into her house and closed the door behind her, locking it without turning around as she started removing her first shoe. As soon as she removed her last shoe, she ventured further into her domicile without even bothering to set her shoes neatly aside. Her feet dragged her towards the living room, making the sound of socks dragging across the wooden floor echo throughout the house.

"Hi." her mother spoke when her dragging sounds got closer.

Mizuha greeted her back while lazily making a beeline for one of the three couches in the living room, specifically the one-seated couch. Mizuha plopped herself into the purple chair and landed with an odd sitting posture. Her school bag lay abandoned on one of the armrests but slowly tilted to the side and fell dramatically on the floor with a loud thud. Mizuha glanced at her bag and then looked at her parents with a shrug.

"Good job on winning third place." Her mother said with a grin.

Mizuha gave her mom a thumbs up.

 _Waaaiit for it..._

"Did you have to do that to your opponent?" Tenran asked, disappointment laced in his voice.

Her father and mother both looked at her and waited for her answer. They were _expecting_ an answer from her. Mizuha sat up straight and quickly assured them that everything was fine and that there was no need for concern. She knew what she did, everyone knew. For Mizuha, telling her parents things, especially to her mom, was a natural thing. She explained the whole situation. She told them about the other girl's grudge, she told them about her personal problem and about what she really needed to do.

Tenran and Mizuki knew about their daughter's guilt. But they thought she found a way to cope with it based on how she acted. No one who have thought Mizuha had a problem if they saw her behind closed doors.

She would make odd high pitched sounds like a child, finding imitations fun to do when her mother would call her out for being crazy. Her random hugs to her mother while saying she loved her were a little too much, but yet was appreciated. Her love for video games that was always accompanied with angry shouts and laughter.

Always asking what was for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Always asking for take-out when they would come home late (and she would sulk a little when they refused).

Laughter was always heard, especially when Byakuren was in their home.

She seemed fine.

"Honestly, Mizuha... you need to learn to open up to others. You need to."

"Yes, I know dad."

"You're not even close to any of your relatives, and no, you can't count Mari and Reina."

Mizuha wasn't going to argue with her mother one that one. Even if she had a huge family tree that consisted both sides, she only communicated with two cousins she had that were from her mother's side; in fact, her mother's sister's family was pretty much the only people she had any form of communication with due to two yearly visits. As for her father's side... her aunts on that side were quite smothering and that was without any form of interaction initiated by her. Instant love. She wasn't exactly close to them, it felt more like blood obligation to communicate.

Her mom would always tell her to build a connection with her other cousins just in case anything were to happen to her mother and father. But this made Mizuha cover her ears and talk over Mizuki's voice since she never liked talking about the reality of life.

It was just hard to communicate with them. They all lived in different areas that were far from each other. Visits were kind of hard since her parents were kind of busy.

Mizuha frowned, "What I wanna know is why didn't you guys tell me that Shiran woke up?" she asked, a pout evident in her voice.

Mizuki leaned her head back and gave her a confused look, "What are you talking about? We _did_ call you!"

Mizuha mirrored her mother's face, "No!"

"We called you several times. You just didn't call back." her father argued.

Mizuha was about to add her refute... until she remembered that moment when she saw something about missed calls on her phone.

...

...

...

"... ah."

 _Maybe I should have called them in the end..._

 _... actually, I'm glad I didn't. If I went to the hospital, I probably still would have been so stubborn and narrow-minded._

"Anyway, how is he?"

Mizuki nodded with a smile, "The doctor said he's just fine, but it's going to take some time before he's able to walk again."

The girl sighed in relief, "That's good to hear."

Seeing his daughter's obvious relief, Tenran leaned forward in his seat and reached out his hand, resting it on top of her head and ruffling her hair. Everyone was relieved that the absent Hyoumei finally awoke from his slumber, but it was Mizuha who was definitely the most relieved one.

"You want to come with your mother and I? We're going to go see him later in the evening after dinner. It shouldn't be a problem since you have no school tomorrow."

Mizuha shook her head and removed the hand resting upon her head, "No, Uncle Eijin said I should take it easy and rest. Instead, I'll go see him tomorrow."

Her mother stood up from the couch and walked to the kitchen, "Yeah, I agree with him. You should rest up for today, take it easy. You don't need to rush a visit."

With that, Mizuha decided to retire for now. She lazily pulled herself up from the couch and got back on her feet. Her body swayed as she turned around while snatching her bag off the floor, and then she walked to her room while dragging her feet across the floor, gathering a bunch of dust beneath her socks. When she arrived in front of her door, she twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open and then immediately tossed her backpack on her bed. She witnessed the bag collide against her wall and bounce little once it fell on her mattress. Her foot shut the door behind her and she walked further into her room, in the dark. It didn't take her too long to change out of her uniform and into her house clothes.

Once the after school routine was done, she turned towards her bed and strode over to it. She grabbed her bag and dropped it on the floor, causing a loud sound to echo in her room.

The girl lied down on her back and faced the ceiling above her. In her right hand was her phone that had her fingers clasped around it. Staring at the ceiling did not last long since she ended up having a screen in front of her face.

 _Shu ┐(￣～￣)┌_

"... Maybe I should call him now... I don't want to risk forgetting to..."

Her thumb slowly and softly pressed the screen where his contact name was displayed. She was offered a couple of different contacting options but she selected the button with the small telephone. The screen changed and it showed her that she was now attempting to call Shu. With a small breath, she placed her phone next to her left ear and waited for him to answer.

 _Ring... Ring... Ring..._

...

6 seconds had passed.

15 second had passed.

Her confidence soon practically faded away when she realized he wasn't going to pick up. She moved away her phone from her ear.

 _... He probably doesn't answer anonymou_ —

 **"Hello?"**

Mizuha instantly sat up in her bed and shoved her phone back next to her ear.

"H-Hello."

She slapped her forehead for stuttering.

 **"Who is this?"**

"... It's Mizuha."

She heard a sharp intake of breath on the other line. Then was a pause, silence.

Mizuha adjusted her sitting position and leaned back against the wall next to her bed. She did so quietly to not break the silence.

It was awkward, that's for sure.

 **"Um... I'm sorry for what happened. I..."** he whispered and then trailed off.

Mizuha's features softened at the sound of his voice, he sounded so sad. She honestly didn't know how to phrase her next words so she began to trace circles on her bed cover and tried to formulate her words in a coherent sentence.

"Your sister told me everything... you don't need to apologize for anything. It wasn't your fault. I was just... it's my fault. So please, don't think like... you're responsible because you're not, I was the one who acted stupid that day."

She heard a chair squeak on the other side. She figured he was probably sitting on a desk chair somewhere quiet.

There was a chuckle.

 **"Ah geez... I think... I've been waiting for this call for a long time. I always wanted to talk to you... but I couldn't reach you at all."**

He was probably referring to the time she distanced herself along with the fact that he left for middle school. Shu was a year ahead of her.

 **"The only time I actually got to see you was on TV, and I'm glad that you seem to be doing well now... you're using your Quirk properly."  
**

Mizuha nodded to herself... then remembered how she cried during her fight with Byakuren. She didn't bother thinking about it earlier since it wasn't as important as the fights she had to participate in, but now that everything was over the memory was starting to sink in. The girl dropped her head and cringed in embarrassment.

 _... I hope I won't be remembered for that!_

"Um, what about you? Are you doing okay?" she quickly asked to change the subject.

At her question, his voice suddenly changed into a happier one, she could practically see a smile accompanying his words, **"Yeah, I'm doing really well in school. I'm practically at the top of my class!"**

"Wait, are you in like a regular school or like a hero school?"

 **"I'm attending a hero school just like you."**

"Oh, what was your Quirk again...? Psyki...Pscyho... uhh—"

Shu laughed heartily, **"Psychometry."** He corrected.

"Right, that."

His Quirk was actually a pretty interesting one, in her opinion. Back when they were in the same school, Shu told her about his Quirk when they were sitting outside during recess. It was Quirk that allowed him to know something's history by making contact with it, be it a human, animal or object. However, It didn't come without a bane, he could only using his Quirk two times per day. She could only wonder how this Quirk was helping him today, perhaps she was too narrow-minded but she couldn't really see how that Quirk could work in hero training. Of course, she wasn't about to tell him that.

 **"Anyway, it was nice to talk to you again but I have to go. I have a lot of studying to do."**

"Oh, no sorry for interrupting you."

 **"Nah, it's fine. We can talk again next time... if you want."**

"Sure why not."

With a few more words, they both hung up.

Mizuha shut her eyes tightly and tossed her phone aside, breathing out heavily. For some reason, the moment the call ended, she felt like a weight was lifted off. She didn't have to worry about her older friend now that she told him what she needed to say. Her mind suddenly wandered to the thought of the other victims. Did they also have a guilt problem? Were they okay? Were any of them angry with her?

 _Maybe Shu can tell me the next time we talk..._

* * *

At around nine in the evening, a certain platinum blonde haired boy was currently pouting in his hospital bed. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at the other bed across from his own. It was such a pain to have jelly legs.

"Oh, my love is so far away~" He sighed dramatically with a hand on his chest.

Kyougyoku was still stuck in her slumber much to his dismay. He actually thought of planting a kiss on her lips, hoping it would wake her up just in like those fairy tales. Shiran couldn't even do it if her tried, not with what he currently called 'poor excuse of legs'.

With his uncle's help, he was able to sit next to her bed for a little while when they returned to his little reunion. Instead of moping at the sight of her, he chose to smile hopefully and stroke her forehead, whispering about how she could take her time to wake up just as he did.

The sound of his door sliding open caught his attention. Like a rabbit, he perked up and stared at the door curiously, and when he saw two familiar faces his own brightened up.

"MAMA! PAPA!" he exclaimed while throwing his arms in the air.

Tenran shook his head.

Mizuki sent her son a tired look, "You just woke up and you're already acting like this?" she asked, finding his behavior quite amusing for his age.

Shiran grinned, "Hey, I don't need to change just because things changed without me for the past five years." he said while opening his arms out to them.

He received warm hugs from both his parents, which he appreciated immensely. When he asked about the whereabouts of his little sister, he became a little pouty even though he knew she wouldn't be visiting him today.

The visit's conversation was mostly a talk about the current day in which Shiran was more or less aware of.

"Mizuha's class got attacked by villains at school?" Shiran repeated with his mouth agape.

Such a thing never happened during his time in U.A High School. He couldn't believe that it was happening now either. The school had good security everywhere on campus. You couldn't access school grounds unless you were a staff member or a student. The idea of villains actually making it in seemed unbelievable. He supposed that All Might, the Symbol of Peace, was the magnet attracting those scumbags who dared attack the school. It was assuring to have the number one hero as a teacher but it seemed like it did not come without attracting the wrong crowd.

Shiran placed a hand under his chin, furrowing his eyebrows, "I don't know if this is a one time thing or actually a sign that things are about to turn ugly... I really hope it's the first and certainly not the latter."

"I don't think we need to worry. I'm sure U.A will now make sure to keep their students safe from another villain incident." Tenran reassured while patting Shiran's shoulder.

Shiran was glad his parents told him about his sister and how she changed these past five years, but he also stopped them when he felt like they were going to tell him things he'd rather hear from her.

And when it was time for them to leave, his mother pulled out something from her purse. It was his phone that was still connected to his charger.

His eyes lit up, "Technology! I completely forgot that I didn't have it!"

His extended his hands out to her with stars in his eyes.

"I figured you'd want to have it during your stay here so that you don't get bored."

"Thank you, mom!"

He took his belongings from her and waved his parents goodbye as they left his room. Shiran happily reached for the outlet next to his bed and shoved in his charger before slipping underneath his bed covers. He disconnected his charger from his device and rolled onto his side, practically coddling his phone.

"Man, I hope this place has wifi..." he mumbled before turning it on.

 _Hm? What's this?_

He wasn't expecting to see his phone displaying a bunch of voice messages left to him. Who the heck was calling him when he was unconscious? Didn't they know he was in coma?

 _Mizuha_ (╹◡╹)

Shiran stared at his sister's name in confusion. Then he started scrolling down to check out the dates of the messages. There were at least twenty-five voice messages and they were all during his coma. Now, his curiosity was definitely piqued.

He decided to start listening to them chronologically.

 _ **"Nii-chan, can I talk to you? Something is wrong... I'm too scared to talk to them. After what happened, I'm not sure how I should like um, I'm not sure how I should continue? But I just think I should stay away from them because... I don't know I just think it's better if I do that. I can't really talk to Byakkun about this because... well I just don't want to. End of voice message."**_

"... Oh dear."

* * *

 **I used 'Nii-chan' as a way to show that Mizuha used to call him childishly.**

 **I'm thinking that one or three more chapters should wrap up this first book! So glad I've been getting more reviews, encourages me a lot! ^_^**

 **Say Happy Birthday to Mizuha and Byakuren (and the author of this book pfft) because November 21st is their birth date!**


	21. Chapter 21: Farewell Aloof Hero

_"Do you want to hold her?" mom asked with a smile._

 _I did a double take and pointed at myself, "M-Me?! Uhhh..."_

 _Without even waiting for my answer, I saw my mom motioned my dad to come over and take the little human that was currently wrapped up in a blanket in her arms. I could actually feel the sweat accumulating on my face when my dad approached me with the little human._

 _"Come on, Shiran. You're her big brother now. Say hi." My dad chuckled before making a move that clearly meant he was going to hand me the little human._

 _I stepped back hesitantly, "W-What if I drop her?! Yoooo- I don't know If I can...! DAD!" I squeaked out while watching him approach me without stopping._

 _Suddenly, hands grabbed my shoulders from behind and kept me in place._

 _"For the love of... just hold her Shiran."_

 _"... Uncle Eijin..."_

 _I looked at my newborn sister and hesitantly reached out for her. The moment she was in my arms, I made sure she was secured in them and I stood still. I didn't want to make any sudden movements that would cause her to cry. My eyes attentively observed her, watching every detail._

 _"Shiran, you might want to fix your face. You're staring at her with your wide eyes open like from a horror movie." Eijin laughed._

 _"EH?! Really?!" I exclaimed horrified, but still kept my eyes on her._

 _Then she slowly opened her eyes, revealing onyx hues that matched my own._

 _She started cooing a little. It was cute._

 _I smiled softly, "Hey-"_

 _She sneezed._

 _"Oh."_

 _That was freaking adorable._

 _She was staring at me in wonder, obviously wondering with her newborn mind who the heck this stranger in front of her was._

 _She was so small in my arms, currently so fragile in the world but yet currently safe in my arms. I guess this is what they call loving someone unconditionally because I felt like I was practically enamored with her. Strange, I know._

 _Before I knew it, I was wearing a big smile on my face._

 _She smiled too._

 _... I want her to smile. I want her to always smile._

 _Affectionately, I held her closer and softly nuzzled my nose against her forehead, "Hi there." I whispered happily._

 _I pulled away a little to see her fully, "Hiii Mizuhaa~ I'm your big brother! My name is Shiran."_

 _ **And your big brother will be your shield in this world so that you can remain happy during colourful days. I promise!**_

...

...

...

Shiran blinked as he stared blankly outside the window of his hospital room. His first memories of Mizuha were clearly playing in his mind now that he finished listening to all her voice messages.

It was obvious that her smile wasn't as present as it used to be prior to his coma. Her first messages had some sort of emotion in them as she spoke. Then, her voice started to change and it gave off the feeling that she had changed completely.

And finally, that last voice message showed how broken she was inside. She told him she had been living her life dishonestly because she was hurting. And it hurt to her voice crack a couple of times as she spoke.

Shiran sighed heavily, clutching his phone tightly in his hand.

"... I guess I'll walk a bit."

 _What should I say to her now?_

* * *

She didn't remember when she fell asleep, but she did know that it happened past midnight.

After her parents left, she locked the door and played video games for a little while. Then she turned it off and went to go brush her teeth. Then, in the dark, she spent her time on her laptop, then on her phone and probably knocked out during that time.

Mizuha found her headphones on her side. She fell asleep with them on her head and probably turned in her sleep, causing it to fold and rest near her side. Slowly, she tried reaching for her phone that was lost in her bed. Her phone was beside her head pillow next to her body pillow that was acting as a wall between her and the wall.

She turned it on and saw that it was only 8:25 AM.

Mizuha groaned and dropped her phone on the desk chair next to her bed before reaching for her bed cover and pulling it higher. It was always like this, her body was too used to waking up early and her internal clock never discriminated the days. She functioned on five hours of sleep (maybe a whole seven if she was lucky) due to her studying and just not wanting to sleep.

Her mother wasn't going to make breakfast until it was nine or ten because she wanted to sleep in.

Her father wasn't even home, he was passing his time outside. Like Mizuha, he was too used to waking up early except his case was that he woke up even earlier. He always went to work at around five or six, meaning his body woke up around that time.

 _I could just go back to sleep... or I can stay awake_?

What a dilemma.

She dozed off.

Only to wake up an hour later when her mom opened her door and called her for breakfast.

* * *

Mizuha furiously pressed the buttons on her PS4 controller. She was currently in an intense boss battle. She kept warping her character everywhere and was trying to survive with what little health he had left.

"Come ooooon, let me use a—"

The daemon ran right past her character.

"—AAAAA DANG PHOENIX FEATHER!" Mizuha yelled and tilted to the side as if she was the one who was avoiding the monster.

Mizuki yelled at her from the kitchen for being too loud.

She ignored her mother.

"COME BACK TO LIFE CHOCOBROS!"

As soon as she defeated the boss, she cried out happily and sprawled herself on the long couch in a pile of giggles.

* * *

"You wanna come with me and see Shiran?"

 _"I already went this morning."_

"... so?"

 _"So what?"_

"You can go again."

 _"Oh my god, just go by yourself Mizuha!"_

"Ehhhhh Byakureeen..."

 _"That's your brother! Go see him."_

"Pleaaaase."

 _"Hell no."_

"UGH FINE!"

Dejectedly, Mizuha said her last words to him before hanging up. She was sitting on her couch, dressed up and ready for her visit to the hospital. She was hoping that Byakuren could accompany her just in case things got awkward between her and brother.

Her mother already left for work and she was home alone.

Mizuha slouched in her seat, staring at her phone. It was currently 1 PM and it was finally time for her to head to the hospital. She waited for another few seconds before standing up from her seat and reaching down to grab her backpack. She locked her door on the way out with the spare key she had and she threw on her hood on her head. Mizuha knew that a lot of people watched the U.A Sports Festival on TV, therefore wanted to avoid being recognized on the streets by viewers.

* * *

In the bus, she sat on an available seat that was fortunately closer to the exit. The commute to the hospital was going to take too long and the distance between the bus stop and the building wasn't too bad either. With a sigh, she crossed her legs and watched a family cross the road as her bus stopped at a red light.

"Maaan! That Todoroki kid was super OP!"

"Yeah but that Bakugo beat him in that last match."

"Oh! Let's not forget Midoriya! Kid has some crazy superhuman strength. I was freakin' blown away by their fight!"

"You were there?!"

"Hell yeah! I wasn't going to watch the event on TV."

"Then you saw how that girl Hyoumei was amazing too, right?!"

Mizuha blinked and turned her head to slightly look at the guy who just spoke in a way where her face remained hidden from the side with her bangs. Hearing people talk about what they thought about her actually got her curious. She wasn't sure what kind of impression she made on the public thanks to her two different images that were displayed that day. People probably thought she had something against Mokuen since she acted different with Byakuren at the end of their match.

"Hyoumei? Oh... you mean the girl who disrespected her opponent? Sure, that girl is strong but she doesn't look like she respects people..."

Mizuha rolled her eyes. _Alright, alright I get it! But you don't know what happened!_

With a defeated sigh, she returned her attention back on the sight outside her window. That was certain a mistake she was going to have to fix later on when she gets the chance. No one would want to respect a hero who didn't give any.

* * *

Mizuha literally hopped off the bus with a light step. Her feet dragged her towards the hospital's direction, the path was engraved in her mind just like the path to her classroom.

When she made it to the entrance, she pulled out her phone to check the time...

... only to be rudely bumped into.

Mizuha gasped in surprise as her body was shoved to the side from the collision. Her eyes instantly fixed on the person who did it, glaring at them with all her might. Irritated, she shoved her phone back in her pocket with a scowl. Her irritation grew as she noticed that they didn't even bother looking back to yell at her or to apologize. She figured he was probably lost in his own world.

"Fuckin' disrespectful trash." She hissed under her breath before turning around and taking off her hood.

Her eyes widened when she came face to face with a familiar face. The person behind her was apparently going to walk around her to get past her, but she turned around just before they could and they were equally surprised to see her.

Mizuha nodded slowly, "... Hello, Todoroki."

The boy nodded towards her, "Hello, Hyoumei."

They both stood awkwardly facing each other, they were both waiting for the other to make the first move to leave. Both of them were wondering why the other was at the same hospital. It was clear that they had some sort of connection to the hospital. Todoroki looked like he was on his way out while Mizuha was on her way in, but they weren't going to ask the other about it. It wasn't any of their business.

Mizuha looked away and hastily walked past Todoroki, not wanting to stay rooted in that awkward standing still any longer.

 _Wow, my social skills are_ _trash..._

Like her last recent visit, Mizuha didn't have to ask the desk where her brother's room was. She just hoped that they didn't move him because Kyougyoku remained the only one sleeping in that room. When she thought of her brother, she couldn't help but try to think about what could happen during their conversation... and she was kind of mentally preparing herself for that conversation.

She couldn't help it, this was her first conversation with him in five years.

For Shiran, it was probably a conversation with a total different person.

Either way, things were different and she didn't know how it was going to affect their relationship.

Once she made it in front of his door, she slowly pulled the door open in a way she wouldn't make too much noise if he was asleep. Immediately, she was greeted with the sight of Shiran's back stretching in front of the large window in his room. He let out a sound of satisfaction and allowed his body to fall limp.

Mizuha quietly entered the room, closing the door behind her softly.

Shiran jolted at the sound of the door and glanced over his shoulder curiously.

Mizuha found it intriguing how she could see a face change expression so quickly. At first, Shiran had a curious expression, and the moment he laid his eyes on her, his face made all the necessary movements to turn into a happy one. The older Hyoumei turned around and greeted his sister happily while approaching her.

Normally, someone would at least offer a smile, but Mizuha didn't. Her philosophy about smiles were different. Why should you smile if you weren't happy? Why must you offer a smile if you don't really mean it? Sure, giving a smile could be seen as a sign of respect but... wouldn't you still be lying?

Mizuha watched her brother approach her with curious eyes, "Hi." she greeted.

With a bright smile, Shiran grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her towards his bed. Mizuha allowed her brother to do as he pleased. Shiran stopped next to the bed and sat sideways on his bed, and then patted the spot in front of him to tell Mizuha to take a seat on that spot.

The platinum haired girl seated herself in front of him and sat in a way where her body did not face Shiran, but she kept her head turned towards him. Her bag was neatly tucked between her feet on the floor.

"I see that you're standing on your own."

"Hm? Oh! Yeah, I'm getting in some exercise for my legs by walking around this floor. Standing isn't proving to be much of a challenge anymore." he stated proudly, still smiling.

"Oh."

"Now, walking... that's a bit more challenging."

"I see."

Shiran's smile faltered a bit.

"... Ne, Mizuha. You don't to feel awkward around me."

Mizuha visibly cringed, that was exactly what she wanted to avoid doing. Honestly, the more she thought about making things less awkward the more she felt like she was kind of talking with a stranger. She was making herself think so by overthinking. She knew that he didn't change because she was the one who changed.

"... Sorry. I just don't really know how to act right now. I mean, I'm happy that you're awake but... this is my personality we're talking about... I..." she trailed off and then stopped talking altogether.

Shiran observed her for a moment, waiting to see if she was going to continue talking. But she didn't, it was now silent in the room.

The older boy sighed, "Okay, then I'll start talking... Mizuha, I heard those voice messages."

Confused, Mizuha tilted her head, "Voice... messages?" she repeated.

She didn't realized what he was talking about until he picked up his phone from his nightstand and held it in front of her. When she realized what he was talking about, she lowered her eyes down at the bed and didn't say anything. Seeing her do so, Shiran dropped his phone next to him and scooted closer to his sister.

She completely forgot about the possibility that her brother would one day wake up and listen to those messages. He didn't have to listen to them, it was simply a recorded message of her many ramblings. If she remembered correctly, she was planning on erasing those messages once he woke up. It must have slipped her mind.

"Mizuha, I feel so bad that you went through the past five years feeling like that. I feel bad knowing you constantly blamed yourself for the incident. You're not the one caused that attack to happen that day. You do understand that, don't you?"

Mizuha frowned, "I know! But every time I try telling myself that it wasn't my fault and that the situation was inevitable... I keep saying it's my fault because I didn't listen to you."

Shiran wrapped his arms around her, "I doubt that you would have made it to that hero agency during that huge panic. Besides, I'm sure that they became alert about the situation once they saw a mob of people running outside."

"But my friends got hurt because I acted stupid that day. I should of just ran with them after creating that first opening... instead I just continued fighting as if I was a real hero. Plus, you and Kyougyoku had to come looking for me and the others... you two got hurt trying to protect us from the villains."

Shiran hummed and rubbed her back, "That's my job. I have to protect you and your friends."

"Your job doesn't include you falling into a coma!" Mizuha protested with her fists clenched in her pockets.

Shiran petted her hair, "Actually, that is what I signed up for. I became a Hero knowing I would be putting my life in danger to protect others."

Hearing her brother say that, she was reminded of Aizawa's state after the USJ attack. Seeing him in such a state was very hard for Mizuha since it made her think about how heroes could get hurt like that in the line of duty.

"But... maybe you were at fault or maybe you weren't. We'll never know because we only went through one possible outcome of the incident, and I think this outcome was actually the best one... no one died. That's the most important thing, we're all still alive. So, I believe, whatever action and decision that was made that day, it had meaning. You may think that your actions were wrong, but you might not realize that your actions were probably necessary to save and stall time for help to reach you. You did what you thought what was right, we can't blame you for that... So, please don't keep thinking that everything was your fault because it's not. It really isn't. Look, I don't blame you and I ended up in a coma. Plus, I think Kyougyoku would say the same thing if she woke up."

Her brother didn't know that she already accepted that she mistake. She understood that it was now an experience she had to learn from and make sure she wouldn't screw up like she feared doing. However, now it seemed like his words made her understand even more. Some times, getting hurt is the toll you have to pay if you decide protect something. Heroes accept this risk because they want to protect others. It was scary, but it was something that had to be accepted because sometimes... that's what it meant to be a hero.

"You chose to be brave and face a threat that could have... well killed you. You were willing to face danger for the sake of others. That moment, you clearly showed that you were someone who was capable of self-sacrifice. That's important part of being a hero."

Mizuha's eyes widened.

 _"You chose to be brave and face an overwhelming threat that could have no doubt destroyed you. You have the mark of someone who is willing to face danger for the sake of others. The mark of someone who will go against the worst odds for the sake of others. The mark of someone who is capable of self-sacrifice. That, my dear, is an important part of being a hero."_

 ** _ _Self-sacrifice. Really? I don't really see myself like that...__**

Mizuha pulled away from her brother, "... The Principal said something like that to me when I received my acceptance letter... he said I had the mark of someone who is capable of self-sacrifice."

"Oh? What did you do?"

"Um, it wasn't anything special. I went up against... no I didn't really go up against it, but anyway there was this huge dangerous robot and I kept it at bay to help these two girls."

Shiran puffed out a laugh, "Of course that's special, especially if the Principal recognized it as so."

Mizuha rubbed the back of her neck, feeling a little lack of confidence in herself. Shiran decided to sit in the same way Mizuha was, and then leaned his head on top of hers with an arm wrapped around her. He wanted her to feel better except he had no idea if it was working. She was kind of hard to read now that she was a little more grown up. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of deceiving methods she developed during her 'fake' moments. Was she using any right now?

Mizuha let out one of her many sighs and then reached for Shiran's phone, much to his confusion. She held up a finger as a way to tell him to wait and simply watch what she was going to do. The older brother watched as she dialed his phone number and proceeded to let his ringtone play in the room without showing any sign of answering it.

 _"Heyo~! You've reached the Trickster Hero's number Shiran Hyoumei! I'm not really available at the moment, but please leave a message! I promise I'll listen to it! Alright? Okay, bye! — **BEEEP!** "_

"Hey, I know I called you yesterday but I felt like I needed to tell you something. You probably wondered why I hanged up so abruptly with that last message, well I just got caught talking to you by my classmate who was concerned about me. I kinda broke down like a baby and spilled the all the beans to him, but somehow, talking to him made me feel better. He told me that he wanted to see me happier after he found out I was a big fat liar because I was hurting. I kinda feel bad for lying in front of his face this whole time because he was actually such a nice guy. Anyway, we talked and he actually took part in helping me find my resolve and to forgive myself. The other person who helped me was Byakuren. That idiot picked a fight with me to _really_ help me move on. He's such a good actor... I kind of feel bad that he acting this way for my sake... proves how much of a hopeless case I was. Don't worry, Byakuren and I are still friends... I mean you saw us when you came to my school. We were fine. As for that first person, I'm glad he still considered me a friend despite being dishonest this whole time... Big brother, you don't need to worry... because I'm fine now. You helped me understand that consequences like these are things that are perhaps better than others if it means keeping people alive."

"I'm scared of screwing up and getting people hurt, but I think my definition of screwing up... is standing still and doing nothing as people get hurt. That's the kind of screw up I'm afraid of. Soo, yeah... that's it. I'm fine and I'll be doing better now... Bye."

Mizuha hung up and stared at the floor beneath her feet.

"So there you have it."

Shiran stayed silent for a moment before releasing his own heavy sigh, "Ah geez, you should of told me! I was feeling this big ass pressure thinking that your mentality was all up to me now. You should have said something sooner! I'm not fit to give wise words like a philosopher!"

Mizuha's shoulders jumped for a moment as she laughed silently, "Pfft, sorry."

Hearing her laugh, Shiran hugged her closer to him and rubbed the side of her right arm. This time, Mizuha allowed herself to lean into his embrace and enjoy this moment they currently had. She even slipped an arm around him and returned his embrace with a one armed one.

"... Well, is there anything else you wanna let out or are you good?"

"Um... yeah, I'm sorry you weren't able to... marry Kyougyoku sooner."

...

...

...

"What do you mean?"

Mizuha blinked. She turned her head and he pulled his head away when she started looking at him. She retracted her arm and pointed at him.

"... Didn't you propose to her?"

"... Noooo..."

...

...

...

Mizuha immediately grabbed his left hand and pointed at his ring finger which had a silver band. After showing it to him, she ran over to Kyougyoku's body and picked up her left hand and pointed at the older woman's left ring finger that supported a matching ring. Shiran tilted his head to the side with an amused smile.

"... These are promise rings." he clarified.

Mizuha dropped Kyougyoku's hand.

"What?"

"Promise rings." he repeated.

 _No way._

"Th-That night! The night of the incident! You said you had to ask her something important so you told Byakuren and I to scurry off!"

"... Yeah, 'cause I was gonna give her a promise ring." Shiran said slowly.

"You didn't want to marry her?!" Mizuha asked in disbelief.

"It's not like I don't want to marry her. I was twenty years old back then, I wasn't in a rush to get married and neither was she. If there was one thing we were sure of it's that we _did_ want to be with each other... but not exactly married. We wanted to take our time. So, I proposed that we at least wear promise rings."

Mizuha froze in her spot and stared at her brother in disbelief. _And here this whole time Byakuren and I thought these two were engaged... we both made our families believe that truth. Holy shit, we're so stupid. We just assumed something and now we've made an ass out of ourselves._

"... sooo Byakuren and I aren't going to be in laws any time soon?"

"Hmm, I guess not until we're ready. Why?"

Embarrassed, Mizuha walked back to Shiran's bed and sat back in her spot. "... Well, I was actually liking the idea of having Byakuren as a brother... er brother-in-law." she admitted with a small pout.

Shiran gasped and placed a hand on his chest.

"Don't tell me Ren took my place as your brother?" he teased.

Mizuha puffed out a small laugh. Hearing another laugh, Shiran reached for the top of her head and ruffled her hair.

"Brother-in-law or not, Ren is like practically your brother by now. So, it doesn't really matter. Kyougyoku and I aren't the ones who created your bond. In fact, you two are the reason Kyougyoku and I met in the first place."

That was true. The only reason Shiran and Kyougyoku had any sort of communication was because she and Byakuren hung out all the time. Having the two older siblings meet each other was bound to happen.

Mizuha's mouth tugged to the left and she nodded slowly, "Well, anyway, what do you plan on doing while she sleeps?" she asked curiously.

Shiran shrugged and then fell backwards onto his hospital bed, "I guess I'll be getting back into shape so I can resume my hero duties..."

"So soon?"

"Yes. Mom and dad told me about what happened to you when you and your class went to USJ. That alone is getting me uneasy." he said, his tone turning more serious.

"... but it was just one time."

Shiran looked at his sister with a scowl before sitting up in his bed again, "One time where they finally had the guts to break in and attack students. They dubbed themselves the League of Villains? There is a league now? No, I can't stay idle and risk the safety of others. I bet my left eye that it's a sign."

"I was hoping you'd take it easy or something... but I can see that you won't."

"I wonder if Endeavor's agency is willing to take me back."

"I don't know— WAIT WHAT?!"

"Hm?"

"You worked for ENDEAVOR?!"

"Is that a problem?"

"... Um, no..."

 _I'd rather not tell him he's been working for human trash and then make him search for another agency if he turns out to hate him._

Suddenly, Mizuha felt two hands around her face. She quirked up an eyebrow and stared at her brother curiously, "What is it?"

"Hmm... soft cheeks are still here." he said happily playing with them, humming a little tune.

Mizuha gave him a deadpanned look. She raised her right hand and reached for his left cheek, pulling on it lightly.

"Owwiiee!"

The awkwardness in the air dissipated with their little playful exchange. It was going to take some time but Shiran was going to enjoy getting to know his sister. Hopefully, there were still some things that hadn't changed with her. As for Mizuha, she was probably still going to act a little more reserved towards him... but she knew that would no longer be necessary once she would start becoming more honest and open towards others.

A real step forward was going to be needed for everything to become normal, and she wanted to take that step.

* * *

The next day, Mizuha actually decided to go to the hospital once again. She wanted to spend her days off with her brother to talk with him. Her time with him turned out to be quite enjoyable than she expected.

Mizuha was honest with him. She told him how she felt and how she avoided so many things. She told about what she wanted to do now and how she admitted that she thought it was probably to going to a little difficult. Her achievements in school made him super proud of her, stating that he had a genius as a little sister. Telling him about her Quirk turned out to be easier since he was already aware of her problem. Apparently, Eijin told him about it and explained the reason behind it. Shiran kind of got depressed when he found out his sister wasn't able to give it her all because her mind was unconsciously telling her to hold back. It got him depressed because he felt like he was partly at fault too.

It took a good two minutes to try and change the subject.

She was currently jogging through the hospital's hallways, not caring if she was caught running in such a building. While she jogged, she twisted her bag and zipped it open to double check she brought the snacks he wanted.

Shiran told her that the hospital's food was... well disgusting and that he wanted to eat something sugary. To ease his sugar craving, she asked her mother for cash while admitting that she was buying donuts for Shiran.

When she nearing the area where Shiran's room was, she stopped jogging and zipped her bag closed before setting it back to way it was.

The moment she stopped jogging, she looked at her surroundings and noticed how she stopped by someone familiar.

Mizuha flinched, _Deja vu much?_

Low and behold, Todoroki was the one she stopped next to, and just like yesterday he was surprised to see her there. Not wanting to be rude and just walk off, Mizuha made the effort to greet him like yesterday. She was desperately hoping that he didn't think she was stalking him or anything.

Her greeting was reciprocated.

...

...

...

For some reason, she found herself walking at the same pace as him. They were both walking in the same direction.

"... You here to visit a friend?"

"No, a family member."

 _Oh geez, please don't tell me his mom is the one who ended up here.  
_

"Ah, me too."

"I see."

 _Minus 500 points on my social skills._

When they made it at the intersection that divided the psychiatric ward and the intensive card ward, they wordlessly parted ways and went to off towards their own destination.

When arrived inside of his room, she found it surprisingly empty (aside from Kyougyoku). Confused, she poked her head outside in hallway and looked both sides to check if he was around. She didn't find him. Mizuha pulled her head back inside the room and walked further inside after she closed the door. She figured that he was probably walking around the floor and would return if she waited for him in his room.

Mizuha gently placed her back on the floor, keeping the box of donuts in mind, and then sat down at the end of his bed.

She was going to make herself at home while waiting, going as far as letting her body fall back against the sheets.

Not even a minute passed before she heard the door open. Hearing the sound of the door sliding open, she sat up and opened her mouth to speak...

... she stopped herself before she could day anything.

"Todoroki?"

"Hyoumei, can you come with me?"

"Why?"

"... You see—"

* * *

...

...

...

"What are you doing?!" Mizuha hissed at her brother.

Shiran waved at his sister cheerfully, "Oh! Mizuha! Good morning!"

She found her brother in another hospital room. Not just any hospital room, it was the room that belonged to Todoroki's mom. He was sitting on a chair that was available in the room while she sat on a stool. They looked like they were in the middle of a conversation. Not like it mattered, WHAT THE HELL WAS HE DOING THERE?!

"I found him here the moment I got here. When I asked who he was, I recognized his last name and asked him if he was related to you. When he said he was, I asked for his room number and went to get you." Todoroki explained, making Mizuha feel embarrassed.

Knowing now how Todoroki was visiting his mother made her feel embarrassed because she it made her feel like SHE was the one interrupting their time together through her brother.

"What the heck are you doing here?!"

 _AND HOW LONG WERE YOU HERE FOR?! WHAT IF SHE THOUGHT YOU WERE SOME WEIRDO?!_

"Ehhh... well. I was taking a walk around the floor, and then I came in here thinking it was my room. Obviously, it wasn't. Then when I saw Miss Todoroki, I realized I was in the wrong room. I swear I was about to leave until I noticed she kinda looked like you. Then, yeah... we just started talking, and here we are."

Mizuha dropped her head with a sigh.

Then he turns to Todoroki's mom with a smile, "This is her! This is my little sister Mizuha!"

 _Oh geez._

Defeated, Mizuha sheepishly bowed down, "Hello."

The mother smiled, "It's nice to meet you. You're brother has been telling me a lot about you."

"Has he?" Mizuha shot her brother a nasty look. Shiran noticed this but paid no attention to it, keeping a smile on his face instead.

Shiran looks at Shouto, "I'm guessing that this is your son?"

"Yes."

Shiran grinned, then he asked Mizuha to stand next to Todoroki's mom. At first, Mizuha was about to blow up with protests but then she realized that the faster they get over with whatever he wanted, then they would be able to leave her classmate with his mother alone for some mother and son time. And so, the girl reluctantly walked over to the mother, who was sitting on a stool next to the window, and stood stiffly next to her.

Shiran nodded with a close eyed smile and gave her a thumbs up.

"Ne, Todoroki-san, tell me... am I the only one who thinks my sister kinda looks like your mom?"

Embarrased, Mizuha groaned and hid her face in her hands, "Shiran, stop—"

"Shhhh!" Shiran laughed.

Rei covered her mouth to cover her laughs.

"No, I think she does too."

Surprised, Mizuha whipped her head towards Shouto. He was staring at her, making her shift her eyes towards the corner of the room.

Shouto points at his hair, "Especially with the hair..."

"Todoroki... you don't need to feed my brother's amusement..."

"No, I didn't realize it at first but he's right."

Mizuha was wondering if her face was red due to all the unwanted attention.

Shiran observed his sister behavior carefully, noticing how she was refusing to make eye contact with anyone at the moment. Then he remembered what she told him about how she didn't have many friends because she was scared of getting them hurt. Shiran wanted to somehow help her with that. He definitely wanted his sister to have friends again.

He just hoped that what he was going to do now was going to have some sort of butterfly effect.

Shiran looked at Shouto and then at his sister, "You guys are in the same class right?"

Both students looked at Shiran when the question was asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"Yes."

"You guys friends?"

Mizuha looked away, "... um... not really."

Todoroki remained silent.

Shiran chuckled, "Oof, must be hella awkward now."

Mizuha glared at Shiran. She didn't know what her brother was hoping to achieve by asking those questions. Perhaps he was doing what older brothers always do: embarrassing their sister.

"Hmm... well, I hope you two can be friends. I think that would be wonderful it you guys were." Shiran said, voicing out his opinion. Then he looked at the older woman, "What do you think, Todoroki-san?"

"Yes, I think it would be nice for Shouto to make some friends." Mrs. Todoroki agreed, smiling gently at both her son and his classmate.

"Mom..."

"Well," Shiran clapped his hands together before standing up from his chair, "I'd hate to get in the way of your son's visit so I'll just go back to my room with my sister." he announced while motioning with his hand for his sister to come along with him.

Relieved, Mizuha quietly obeyed him and walked over to his side, grabbing his wrist and trapping it in an iron grip. She started walking towards the door and Shouto moved away from it so they can pass.

Shiran gave the lady a smile just before reaching the door, "It was nice talking with you Mrs. Todoroki!" he waved.

Todoroki's mom waved back and smiled at the sight of Mizuha trying to push him out the door in a hurried manner. Once the Hyoumei siblings left their sights completely, Shouto occupied the seat that was previously used by Shiran. He placed his bag next to a wall.

"That girl Mizuha, it sounds like she had her own set of troubles as well." Rei commented before looking at Shouto, "I think it would be nice if you two became friends."

"Why?"

"She's a bit like you. She's learning, trying to change her ways by coming to terms with her own troubles, and I think it would be nice if you two learned to close that distance you placed around yourselves by starting with someone who is similar."

Shouto silently thought about his mother's words. If it were to make his mom happier, then he could try and do it. But the more the thought about it, the more he realized that she was was right, he was also aiming to stop being distant now that his mind was clearer. He was so focused and unemotional, he kept to himself and he didn't bother socializing with others.

As he started recalling the memories that had his classmate in them, there was always something specific that always recurred in them. He always remembered that Mizuha would always be leaving first and keeping her distance. He recalled the time he accidentally touched her hand when she held out the door for him. She made a beeline for the bus and didn't bother waiting for the others so they can enter the bus as a group. She wanted to be alone. When he offered his help to her when Kishokei-sensei asked him to, she didn't hesitate to turn him down and left without even looking at him or anyone else.

She kept her distance too.

* * *

...

...

...

Shiran hugged his sister tightly, "I'll see you next time then."

Mizuha nodded against him before they both pulled away from each other.

It was finally time for Mizuha to head home. She had regular classes starting again the next day so she didn't want to stay out too late. She definitely wasn't fond of the idea of walking outside during the night, the thought alone made her uncomfortable. And even if she was walking in dark, she would be on high alert for any stranger danger.

Shiran sat back down on his bed and smiled as she waved while leaving his room. They were both hoping that they didn't have to meet in a hospital but rather back at home. The older brother was so eager to head home already that it was starting to irritate him by staying cooped up in a room. He wanted to 'fly free'.

Mizuha shut the door behind her and slung her bag on her back, pulling her hair and hood in front of her so that it wouldn't get stuck between them. When she shoved her arm through the other shoulder strap, she then placed her hood back where it belonged and started walking down the hall.

And as fate would have it, Todoroki was also leaving the room he was previously in. Mizuha made the effort to not turn around and run back inside Shiran's room when she saw him. What the heck was up with these coincidences?!

She carefully watched him as she walked and when she noticed he was turning towards her, she quickly pulled out her phone and pretended to look absorbed in it when she walked. She was certain that he saw her by now but she was trying to not do the same.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't realize that she was staring at a black screen. She scolded herself before quickly turning it on. Mizuha wasn't sure why she decided to look up but she did, and boy did she regret it. It was brief, but she made eye contact with Todoroki.

She darted her eyes back towards her screen, staring blankly at it.

"Hyoumei."

 _Fuck, busted._

Her eyes looked up and slowly her head tilted upwards to acknowledge the fact that he called her name.

"Oh, hi Todoroki."

 _Maybe if I come up with an excuse, I could just dash off like an idiot._

They both walked together on the path that would lead them to the exit. It was certainly awkward and silent that could you probably hear a pin drop. She didn't know why but now she was starting to get stressed by simply being near the boy. She was feeling anxious for such a stupid reason. Her shyness was causing her to feel like this.

"U-Um... I'm sorry about my brother... I'm sure you were really surprised to see some random stranger there."

"It's fine. I'm actually glad your brother came and talked with her. Mom said she liked the conversation they had."

 _Oh?_

"O-Oh... that's good to hear." _I guess._

...

...

...

Todoroki turned his head and looked at her carefully before asking, "Would you be against the idea of us being friends?"

Mizuha's eyes widened, shocked, her mouth hung open for a while. Sensing his stare, she glanced at him with the same expression on her face. Then she remembered why he would be asking such a thing from her. Mizuha's eyes looked away from him, she closed her mouth and shook her head.

"You don't have to do what my brother said." she muttered but it was loud enough for him to hear it in the silent hallway.

Todoroki frowned, "Don't misunderstand, I'm not asking this because of your brother."

 _Oh yeah? Then why would be asking me this in the first place? We never had any real form of interaction other than that time when we were put in teams. I'm sorry Todoroki, but I don't believe you._

"We've both had our own obstacles that made us push away things. And now that we've come to terms with our issues, we're both trying to change.

"I want to change because I want to take a different path. I don't want to remain distant from others because I have no reason to. So, if I can start changing by reaching to someone alike, then I will reach out to you because I think it's time we stop being aloof." he explained before turning his attention to the sight in front of him.

His words sank within her, making completely sense and relating to what she thought as well. The girl never bothered to think deeply about how her other classmates might have had some similar situation to hers. Aside from that time where she was curious about Bakugo, she really never did think about others. And now that Todoroki actually had something in common with her, she found herself curiously drawn to the idea of taking that first step with someone just as distant.

They were both aloof in their own way.

Mizuha observed his facial features from the side. She was specifically looking at his childhood scar that was visible from her perspective. His suggestion made her feel a little bad, he was saying this with probably having no idea of anything personal that happened to her while she did know something personal about him. She still felt bad for eavesdropping.

Still, she liked his suggestion.

While resisting the urge to smile, she looked back in front of her, "Why would ask me if I was against it?"

"I didn't want to force a friendship you didn't want."

Mizuha cringed, "Oh."

 _"Go away. Stop acting like we're friends because we're not. We never were. You're the one that's been forcing a friendship to exist. I never wanted that."_

Mizuha hoped that others wouldn't ask her the same thing because of that incident.

"Er... please forget about that. I wasn't honest with myself at that time, I didn't really mean it... soo yeah. But no, I actually wouldn't be against the idea of being friends."

She admitted it! And she didn't stutter!

"I see. That's good."

"But, let's let that friendship grow naturally."

"Yes, we wouldn't want to force it."

"... Gah, I said to forget about that."

It was small but she saw it. Todoroki did a small smile, making her do the same.

"I have to warn you though, I can be... difficult?" She admitted, referring to her shyness that might create a social problem.

"How so?" he asked curiously.

"I can... be shy?"

Wow, it seemed so easy to talk now. It was like the distance between them got a but smaller. It's just as she thought, talking made it seem easier.

"Really? You don't seem like the type."

 _Yeah, that's because I hide it by acting hella distant and cold. Ask Byakuren. He knows this first hand._

...

...

...

When they finally made it outside, Mizuha suddenly found something she actually wanted to talk about. It was something she was quite curious about.

"Hey, Todoroki?"

He turned his head toward her.

"How are you able to walk and run on your ice so easily? During the Sports Festival you didn't look like you had any trouble moving on your ice. Why is that?" asked Mizuha, hoping to get some sort of advice from him.

Maybe he had a specific body balance while moving on it? Maybe he didn't exactly plant his full foot on the ice? Maybe—

"My boots have these soles that make it easier to move around the ice without slipping."

Mizuha stopped walking.

He stopped walking.

"Are you kidding me? You had special soles?!"

Todoroki nodded, "It's quite difficult to move around on it without them." he admitted, "Don't you have the same soles too?"

Mizuha shook her head furiously, "I don't! I rely solely on my bodily balance!"

Impressed, Todoroki's eyes widened a bit, "Isn't it difficult?"

Mizuha sighed and then started walking again, followed by Todoroki who walked next to her, "Yes, that's why I specifically learned how to walk and run on the ice." she said, bitter from the painful training memories.

Yes. When she first starting using her solid form, she and her uncle would got to an ice rink and she would train herself to move around the ice without slipping and landing on the ice painfully. Those times were the worst. Thankfully, it proved to be worth it since she actually achieved what she wanted. Only to find out now that she could of just gotten those soles to prevent sliding?!

Mizuha hid her face in her hands and tilted her head upwards, letting out sounds of frustration.

"At least you can walk on ice no matter what kind of footwear." he pointed out.

"... Still, that path could have been so much easier. I could have avoided a year of constantly falling on the ice. I had a lot of bruises..."

When they stepped past the the hospital's exterior entrance, they stopped walking at the same time. It seemed like they were both going to have to part ways from that point.

Mizuha pointed her thumb behind her, "I have to go this way."

Todoroki pointed behind him, "I'm going that way."

For once, there wasn't any awkward pause to determine how their parting would play out. It was different. This time, they both parted ways with a short wave. It wasn't much but it was enough for the two who were just starting to get to know each other. As she turned away and walked, she twisted her bag in front of her and pulled out her headphones. Mizuha placed them on her head while trapping a long piece of her hair on her right side between her ear and headphones.

She couldn't help but feel happy from having that interaction with her classmate. Hell, she was even proud of herself for being able to do it! Her lips pressed tightly against each other to resist the urge to smile like an idiot in public.

I think I'm going to be okay now. I don't need to do everything on my own anymore. It might or might not take a while before I can act like myself honestly, but that time will surely come because there's nothing holding me back from doing what I want anymore.

Mizuha looked up at the sky, staring at the group of clouds floating in a large group above the earth. She lightly moved her head to the left to push away the bangs covering her eye.

She noticed a distant cloud that was slowly catching up to the larger group. She noticed that it was pretty slow but for some reason she was certain that it would be able to join the other clouds floating in the atmosphere.

 _Starting tomorrow, this aloof cloud will be doing her best to be what she wants._

A hero that protects everyone's happiness.

Being an aloof hero wasn't so bad... but it wasn't really what she aiming to be.

* * *

 **And that's the end of Aloof Hero. Book I is done.**

 **The meeting scenes between Mizuha and Todoroki were vaguely hinted when I mentioned the psychiatric ward and the intensive card ward back in chapter 7. I just hope I didn't write Todoroki as too OOC.**

 **Yes, Rei is the canon name of Todoroki's mom.**

 **Book II will be up right after I post this chapter, so go check it out!**

 **By the way, this story is also posted on AO3. And if you scroll down at the end of chapter 1, you can see a hand drawn image of Mizuha and Byakuren!**


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